MESSIAHS: 
CHRISTIAN  AND  PAGAN 


MESSIAHS:  CHRISTIAN 
AND  PAGAN 


BY 

WILSON  D.  WALLIS 


BOSTON 

RICHARD  G.  BADGER 

THE  GORHAM  PRESS 


COPYRIGHT,  1918,  BY  RICHARD  G.  BADGER 


All  Rights  Reserved 


Made  in  the  United  States  of  America 


The  Gorham  Press,  Boston,  U.S.A. 


TO 

THE  MEMORY  OF 
WILLIAM  H.  GOODING 

TEACHER,  FRIBND,  GUIDE 


O  Q  O 

«.' 


"  Christianity,  after  all,  is,  in  one  respect,  a  manifestation 
conditioned  by  time  and  circumstance.  Even  if  the  Church 
was  divinely  instituted,  its  history  cannot  be  entirely  dis- 
severed from  the  general  history  of  religious  belief." —  R.  R. 
MARETT,  Magic  or  Religion?  in  The  Edinburg  Review, 
April,  1914. 

"  There  is  a  unity  in  the  history  of  nature  and  of  men." 
—  W.  DOUGLAS  MACKENZIE. 


PREFACE 

SAMUEL  BUTLER  once  remarked  that  "  the  more  orig- 
inal a  writer  is,  the  more  pleasure  will  he  take  in  calling 
attention  to  the  forgotten  work  of  those  who  have  gone  be- 
fore him."  The  present  writer  would,  indeed,  fain  be  orig- 
inal in  the  sense  denoted  by  Butler,  but  the  circumstances 
surrounding  the  subject  of  messianic  religions  seem  success- 
fully to  preclude  this  type  of  originality.  The  topic  of 
messianic  religions,  in  its  wider  bearings,  has  been,  so  far  as 
we  are  aware,  a  neglected  one.  Nowhere  do  we  have  a  study 
of  the  distribution  of  these  phenomena.  Neither,  it  would 
seem,  has  any  one  attempted  to  correlate  the  phenomena  of 
a  given  culture  with  other  social  or  political  conditions  so- 
as  to  give  us  an  insight  into  causes,  or  even  occasions. 

From  this  point  of  view  it  must  be  confessed  that  not  even 
the  Jewish  messianic  movements,  the  best  known  and  most 
studied  of  all  of  them,  have  ever  received  adequate  treatment. 
Theologians  have  generally  restricted  their  studies  to  a  par- 
ticular period  or  to  a  particular  influence,  paying  more  at- 
tention to  textual  matters  than  to  sociological  and  psycho- 
logical conditions.  Even  those  who  have  approached  the 
matter  historically,  as,  for  example,  Greenstone  in  his  study 
of  The  Messiah  Idea,  have  left  large  gaps  in  the  evidence 
and  seem  unaware  of  the  connecting  threads  and  the  similar 
underlying  conditions  that  open  up  a  large  field  for  original 
investigation.  Mooney  and  Chamberlain,  among  ethnolo-^ 
gists,  have  approached  the  study  of  American  messianic 
movements  from  a  more  profitable  angle,  but  they  too  have 
left  the  evidence  incomplete. 

Although  it  seems  safe  to  say  that  no  one  has  attempted 
this  most  important  study  in  comparative  religion  and  so- 
ciology, the  need  for  such  an  investigation  has  more  than 
once  been  pointed  out  by  scholars  who  were  familiar  with  at 


8  Preface 

least  some  important  phases  of  the  major  topic.  Foremost 
among  these  are  three  American  scholars,  two  of  them  theo- 
logians, and  the  other  a  psychologist,  who  was  earlier  a  stu- 
dent of  theology,  and  who  has  remained  deeply  interested  in 
anthropological  theory  and  Weltanschauung  —  G.  STANLEY 
HALL. 

In  1892  Dr.  Ellinwood  in  lectures  given  in  Union  Theo- 
logical Seminary,  New  York  City,  called  attention  to  the 
universality  of  a  vague  expectation  of  coming  messiahs,  than 
which,  he  declared,  "  nothing  found  in  the  study  of  the  reli- 
gious history  of  mankind  is  more  striking."  He  pointed  out 
that  "  in  modern  as  well  as  in  ancient  times  nations  and  races 
have  looked  for  deliverers  or  for  some  brighter  hope.  The 
very  last  instance  of  an  anxious  looking  for  a  deliverer  is 
that  which  quite  recently  has  so  sadly  misled  our  Sioux 
Indians."  (Oriental  Religions  and  Christianity,  282-5, 
New  York,  1896.  Second  Edition.) 

Several  years  later  another  American  Biblical  scholar  in- 
sisted that  "  Jewish  and  Christian  scholars  ought  to  be  able 
by  this  time  to  break  the  spell  of  a  name  and  to  accord  a  fair 
judgment  to  those  political  leaders,  social  reformers,  mys- 
tics, and  prophets  who  from  Simon  bar  Kozeba  to  Sabatai 
Zewi  have  assumed  or  received  from  others  the  title  of  the 
Messiah.  .  .  .  These  Messianic  movements  should  also  be 
more  closely  examined  in  the  light  of  similar  phenomena  in 
the  East  which  is  so  prodigal  with  the  Saoshyants,  Mahdis, 
prophets  and  revealers."  (NATHANIEL  SCHMIDT,  The 
Prophet  of  Nazareth,  93,  1905.)  G.  Stanley  Hall  has 
more  recently  emphasised  this  need.  (In  the  first  volume  of 
The  American  Journal  of  Religious  Psychology  and  in 
Jesus  and  Christ  m  the  Light  of  Recent  Psychology,  1917.) 

These  suggestions  have  been  little  heeded.  Although  we 
have  descriptions  of  Messiahs  and  of  messianic  movements 
among  various  peoples  there  is  nowhere,  so  far  as  we  have 
been  able  to  ascertain,  any  comprehensive  description  or  in- 
terpretation of  them.  For  this  task  the  writer  can  profess 
no  especial  fitness.  On  the  contrary,  he  is  especially  unfitted 
for  many  of  its  extreme  demands  of  scholarship  and  erudi- 
tion. Being  unable  to  control  much  of  the  source  material 


Preface  9 

he  has  had  to  depend  on  translations  and  the  corroborations 
of  more  able  scholars.  It  will  not  be  surprising  if  this  has 
led  to  mistakes  in  more  than  one  instance,  though  in  no  case 
has  he  ventured  to  decide  where  specialists  in  their  field  have 
disagreed. 

Neither  can  he  profess  to  have  presented  the  data  in  its 
completeness.  The  lacunae  will  probably  not  be  filled  until 
some  published  work  has  called  the  attention  of  scholars  to 
a  field  of  research  in  comparative  religion  and  sociology 
whose  importance  has  never  been  adequately  realized.  If  the 
present  work  is  influential  to  this  end  its  existence  will  be 
justified. 

Theologians  may  retain  their  peculiar  right  to  judge  of 
the  sources  which  only  such  thorough  scholarship  as  they 
possess  is  able  to  interpret  confidently.  But  they  can  no 
longer  claim  that  the  interpretation  of  the  meaning  of  the 
facts  which  they  adduce  belongs  exclusively  to  them  —  if, 
indeed,  they  have  ever  made  such  a  claim.  The  messianic 
faiths  which  they  present  appear  in  Judaism,  but  they  are 
not  its  peculiar  possession.  Rather  do  they  belong  to  hu- 
manity. They  are  a  phase  of  human  life  which  has  its  par- 
allels  in  many  widely  separated,  and  historically  unrelated, 
regions  of  the  globe;  they  constitute  one  chapter  in  the 
exulting,  if  often  mistaken,  faith  of  mankind,  their  comple- 
ment being  found  in  Mohammedanism,  in  Buddhism,  and  in 
those  cruder  cultures  which  pertain  to  savagery.  The  light 
of  universality  must  play  upon  them,  in  order  that  we  may 
ascertain  wherein  they  are  the  outcome  of  the  genius  of  the 
Semite,  and  wherein  they  share  in  a  larger  human  brother- 
hood. In  no  other  way  can  they  be  properly  evaluated. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I  THE  MESSIANIC  MOVEMENT  IN  JUDAISM  .      .      .15 

II  THE  MAHDI  :  THE  MESSIAH  OF  MOHAMMEDANISM     90 

III     THE  BUDDHIST  MESSIAH 120 

IV  MESSIANIC  MOVEMENTS  AMONG  THE  NEGROES  .    126 

V  MESSIAHS  or  THE  NORTH  AMERICAN  ABORIGINES  130 

VI  THE  MESSIANIC  IDEA  IN  CHRISTIANITY     .      .      .    153 

VII     MESSIAHS  AND  MIRACLES 197 

VIII     THE  MESSIAH  AND  POLITICS 207 

IX  AN  INTERPRETATION  OF  MESSIANIC  MOVEMENTS  240 


MESSIAHS: 
CHRISTIAN  AND  PAGAN 


MESSIAHS:  CHRISTIAN  AND  PAGAN 

CHAPTER  I 

THE    MESSIANIC    MOVEMENT    IN    JUDAISM 

The  Background  of  Jewish  Messianic  Hope 

THE  cruder  view  that  each  people  is  responsible  for  its 
own  life  and  development  has  given  place  to  the  more 
fruitful  view  that  no  people  is  solely  responsible  for  its  social 
life  and  ideals.  These  can  be  shown,  in  many  cases,  to 
have  been  inspired  by  surrounding  and  older  cultures  which 
have  left  an  impress  upon  their  neighbours.  The  early  life 
of  Judaism  is,  accordingly,  to  be  found,  not  in  the  oldest 
documents  which  they  have  left  us,  but  in  the  older  contigu- 
ous cultures  that  represent,  in  part,  the  dawn  of  their  own 
life.  The  Jewish  people  are  members  of  a  larger  group  of 
influences  that  have  shot  through  their  civilization  giving  it 
new  content  and,  often,  new  trend. 

It  detracts  nothing  from  the  genius  of  this  race  to  dis- 
cover that  the  messianic  idea  itself,  which  is  generally  sup- 
posed peculiar  to  Judaism,  has  its  roots  elsewhere  and  is, 
after  ah1,  only  a  transplanted  idea  flourishing  more  luxuri- 
antly and  more  persistently  in  a  more  favourable  soil.  As- 
syria, Babylonia,  and  Egypt  have,  each  of  them,  probably, 
influenced  Israel  in  generating  the  messianic  ideal,  as  well  as 
in  many  other  ways. 

Thus,  Asurnasipal's  prayer  to  Ishtar  shows  belief  in  the 
divine  mission  of  the  ruler  —  a  prominent  idea  in  the  early 
Jewish  belief: 

"  But  thou,  O  Ishtar,  mighty  princess  of  the  gods,  in  lift- 
ing up  thine  eyes  didst  thou  teach  me,  and  didst  desire  my 

15 


16  Messiahs;  Christian  and  Pagan 

rule.  Thou  didst  take  from  out  of  the  mountains  and  didst 
call  me  to  the  threshold  of  the  people,  thou  didst  preserve 
for  me  the  sceptre  of  the  temples  until  the  becoming  old  of 
mankind.  And  thou,  O  Ishtar,  didst  make  great  my  name, 
and  thou  hast  granted  to  the  faithful  salvation,  mercy." 
[Zeitschrift  fur  Assyriologie,  V  (1890),  p.  70.] 

Similarly,  in  Egypt,  Merneptah  is  praised  as  the  divinely- 
sent  protector  of  Egypt's  peace:  "Great  joy  has  come 
into  Egypt,  rejoicing  comes  forth  from  the  town  of  Tomeri 
(i.  e.,  Egypt).  They  converse  of  the  victories  which  Mer- 
neptah has  achieved  among  the  Tehenu :  '  How  amiable  is 
he,  the  victorious  ruler,  how  magnified  is  the  king  among  the 
gods,  how  fortunate  is  he,  the  commanding  lord ;  sit  happily 
down  and  talk  or  walk,  or  walk  far  out  upon  the  way,  for 
there  is  no  fear  in  the  heart  of  the  people.' '  [Breasted, 
Ancient  Records  of  Egypt,  III,  263.  Chicago,  1906.  God 
(Egyptian),  Hastings'  E.R.E.,  VI,  278.] 

In  what  is  known  as  the  Leiden  papyrus,  No.  344,  trans- 
lated by  Alan  H.  Gardiner  under  the  title,  "  Admonitions  of 
an  Egyptian  Sage  "  (Leipzig,  1909),  there  are  elements  that 
come  close  to  the  messianic  ideal,  and  at  least  distinctly 
adumbrate  it.  The  date  of  the  document  is  not  settled,  some 
Egyptologists  placing  it  about  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth 
or  the  sixteenth  century,  others  believing  it  prior  to  the  year 
2100.  By  either  reckoning  it  easily  antedates  the  appear- 
ance of  the  messianic  idea  in  Judaism.  The  speaker,  Ipuwer, 
represents  first  a  state  of  calamity : 

"  The  door-keepers  say  ...  Let  us  go  and  plunder. 
The  washerman  refuses  to  carry  his  load.  A  man  looks  upon 
his  son  as  his  enemy.  The  virtuous  man  walks  in  mourning 
on  account  of  that  which  has  happened  in  the  land.  The 
wrong-doer  is  everywhere.  Plague  is  throughout  the  land. 
Blood  is  everywhere.  Crocodiles  are  glutted  with  what  they 
have  captured,  men  go  to  them  of  their  own  accord.  For- 
sooth, hair  has  fallen  out  for  every  one.  Great  and  small 
say :  *  I  wish  I  might  die.'  Little  children  say :  '  He 
ought  never  to  have  caused  me  to  live.'  Forsooth,  all  ani- 
mals, their  hearts  weep.  Cattle  moan  because,  of  the  state 
of  the  land.  A  man  strikes  his  brother,  the  son  of  his 


The  Messianic  Movement  in  Judaism  17 

mother.  The  roads  are  guarded.  Men  sit  over  the  bushes 
until  the  benighted  traveller  comes,  in  order  to  plunder  his 
burden.  What  is  upon  him  is  taken  away.  He  is  belabored 
with  blows  of  the  stick,  and  slain  wrongfully.  Forsooth, 
grain  has  perished  on  every  side.  All  is  ruin." 

The  social  order  is  overwhelmed.  "  Forsooth,  poor  men 
are  become  owners  of  good  things.  He  who  could  make  for 
himself  no  sandals  is  now  the  possessor  of  riches." 

There  is  no  longer  respect  for  law.  "  Forsooth,  the 
splendid  judgment-hall,  its  writings  are  taken  away.  Behold 
the  judges  of  the  land  are  driven  out  through  the  land." 

After  this  array  of  calamities  comes  the  Messiah  —  if  such 
we  may  call  him,  "  He  bringeth  coolness  upon  that  which  is 
hot.  It  is  said  he  is  the  herdsman  of  mankind.  No  evil  is 
in  his  heart.  When  his  herds  are  few,  he  passes  the  day  to 
gather  them  together,  their  hearts  being  on  fire.  Would  that 
he  had  perceived  their  nature  in  the  first  generation  of  man- 
kind; then  he  would  have  repressed  evil,  he  would  have 
stretched  forth  his  arm  against  it;  he  would  have  destroyed 
their  seed  and  their  inheritance.  Where  is  he  to-day?  Is 
he  sleeping?  Behold,  his  might  is  seen." 

By  Professors  H.  O.  Lange,  Ed.  Meyer,  J.  H.  Breasted, 
and  others,  this  has  been  interpreted  as  messianic,  the  proph- 
ecy of  a  coming  prince  who  would  rescue  and  heal  his  people, 
restoring  Egypt  to  her  old-time  place  of  prestige  and  power. 
A.  H.  Gardiner  refers  it  to  an  account  of  the  activity  of  the 
god  Re,  the  creator  and  preserver  of  mankind,  whose  return 
to  the  earth  will  restore  peace  and  prosperity.  Since  Re 
was  regarded  as  the  first  king  and  all  subsequent  kings  as  the 
"  sons  of  Re,"  it  would,  as  Prof.  J.  M.  P.  Smith  observes,  be 
natural  to  think  of  the  messiah  king  as  a  re-incarnation  of 
Re.  "  Indeed,"  to  quote  Prof.  Smith,  "  we  recall  that  Micah 
speaks  of  a  coming  Messiah  '  whose  origins  are  from  of  old, 
from  ancient  time.'  It  is  to  be  noticed,  however,  as  Gardiner 
reminds  us,  that  Ipuwer  does  not  predict  the  coming  of  the 
messianic  ruler,  but  merely  gives  expression  to  his  longing 
that  such  an  one  might  appear.  Whether  or  not  the  thought 
is  concerned  with  an  individual  Messiah  in  the  ordinary  sense 
of  the  word,  the  context  is  too  uncertain  to  determine.  But 


18  Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

it  is  perfectly  clear,"  and  this  is  a  point  we  would  stress,  "  it 
is  perfectly  clear  that  there  is  here  presented  a  longing  for 
the  coming  of  a  golden  age  such  as  that  so  gloriously  de- 
picted and  so  confidently  predicted  by  the  prophets  of  the 
Old  Testament."  [J.  M.  P.  Smith,  Semitic  Prophecy,  in 
the  Biblical  World,  Vol.  35,  No.  4*  (April,  1910),  p.  223-33. 
J.  H.  Breasted,  The  Earliest  Social  Prophet,  in  the  American 
Journal  of  Theology,  Jan.,  1910.] 

[  These  ideas  are,  in  many  respects,  similar  to  the  early 
Jewish  hopes  wherein  the  prophets  lament  the  evils  that  befall 
I  the  people  under  wicked  rulers,  and  paint,  in  contrast,  that 
.ideal  kingdom  of  the  future  when  the  righteous  king  shall 
(reign  and  peace  shall  prevail. 

Hammurabi,  like  other  Babylonian  rulers,  was  a  descend- 
ant of  the  gods,  their  representative  on  earth,  and  was 
expected  to  inaugurate  a  golden  age  of  peace.  [Cheney  be- 
lieves the  Jewish  messianic  hope  may  be  the  result  of  Baby- 
lonian influence.  See  Messiah,  Ency.  Bibl.  The  view  that  it 
is  derived  from  Chaldea  is  advanced  by  H.  P.  Blavatsky, 
Isis  Unveiled,  II,  256.  Madras,  1910.] 

From  other  older  Oriental  cultures  there  comes  an  unmis- 
takable strain  of  messianic  hope.  "  Wake !  Be  thyself ! 
Arise,  Scourge  of  thy  Foes !  "  is  the  admonition  of  Krishna 
in  the  Bhagavad-Gita. 

In  Zoroastrian  religion  the  idea  of  a  savior,  political  and 
moral,  is  clearly  developed.  The  concept  .of  the  Iranian 
messiah,  the  Saoshyant,  is  implied,  if  not  plainly  expressed 
in  the  Gathas,  the  oldest  portion  of  the  Avesta,  while  in  the 
later  Avesta,  the  nineteenth  Yast,  the  idea  reaches  fruition. 
In  the  later  Pahlavi  texts  it  is  developed  in  some  detail.  The 
Saoshyant  is  the  greatest  and  last  of  the  three  millenial 
prophets  and  will  usher  in  the  day  of  judgment  for  all  man- 
kind. The  way  is  paved  by  his  predecessors,  Ukhshetara, 
Aushetar,  and  Ukhshatnemah,  or  Aushetar-mah,  each  of 
whom  rule  or  supervise  for  a  thousand  years,  the  world, 
meanwhile,  undergoing  slight  improvement.  The  Saoshyant 
is  assisted  in  his  first  duties,  supervising  the  resurrection  of 
the  dead,  by  fifteen  men  and  fifteen  maidens.  A  mystic  drink 
confers  immortality  upon  the  resuscitated,  and  the  Saoshyant 


The  Messianic  Movement  in  Judaism  19 

then  proceeds  to  recompense  all  according  to  their  deeds. 
[Art.  on  Saoshyant,  in  New  Intern.  Ency.  (1911).  N. 
Soderblom,  La  Vie  Future  D'Apres  Mazdeisme,  305-8,  246-7. 
Angers,  1901.  J.  H.  Moulton,  Early  Religious  Poetry  of 
Persia.  Cambridge,  1911.  Incarnation  (Parsi)  in  Hastings' 
E.R.E.,  VII,  198.  Ages  of  the  World  (Zoroastrian),  Ib.,  I, 
205-10.  Messiah,  Ib.,  VIII,  579.  Gaster,  however,  in- 
sists that  the  Zoroastrian  Taheb,  or  Messiah,  plays  as  color- 
less a  part  as  the  Messiah  in  the  Testament  of  the  Twelve 
Patriarchs  or  in  the  Apocalypse  of  Baruch.  See  Art. 
Parsiism  in  Judaism,  in  Hastings'  E.R.E.,  IX  (1917),  p. 
640.] 

The  Fathers  of  the  Church  regarded  Orpheus  as  the  fore- 
runner of  Christ,  remarking  that  he  had  come  to  teach  man- 
kind and  had  died  a  tragic  death.  In  fact  a  Roman  em- 
peror placed  in  his  private  chapel  a  statue  of  Orpheus  beside 
the  statue  of  the  Christian  Messiah.  [Hutton  Webster, 
Ancient  History,  513  (D.  C.  Heath  &  Co.  1913).] 

The  Greeks,  however,  had  no  typical  messiahs,  though  ele- 
ments of  messianism  had  entered  feebly  into  the  religious  as 
well  as  into  the  social  and  political  life.  The  Eleusinian 
mysteries  conducted  the  initiate  into  a  new  world  of  saving, 
if  not  absolving  grace.  The  rebirth  to  a  new  life  was  sym- 
bolized in  the  Demeter  and  Persephone  myth,  known  to  all 
Greeks,  and  in  the  Dionysian  rites  divine  inspiration  was  ex- 
pected. [Farnell,  in  art.  on  Greek  Religion  in  Hastings' 
E.R.E.  For  a  fuller  account,  see  the  excellent  chapter  on 
Hellenistic  Religions  of  Redemptions,  in  S.  J.  Case,  Evolu- 
tion of  Early  Christianity.  Chicago,  1914.] 

Even  in  Rome  itself,  cold,  austere,  self-controlled,  and  won- 
derfully cosmopolite,  vague  foreshadowings  of  a  messianic 
kingdom  are  not  wanting.  The  Golden  Age  pictured  by 
Virgil  will  be  established  by  Augustus  Caesar,  offspring  of 
a  god,  than  whom,  sings  Horace, 

...  no  boon  of  nobler  worth 
Fate  or  kind  gods  ere  gave,  or  ere  shall  give 
Ev'n  though  the  golden  age  upon  the  earth 
Once  more  may  live  again. 


20  Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

Caesar  "  lives  to  save  " —  a  "  winged  god  who  deigns  to 
don  a  manly  frame,"  a  "  present  god."  He  is  a  "  patri- 
monial Zeus,  and  savior  of  the  common  race  of  mankind,  all 
of  whose  prayers  Providence  has  not  only  fulfilled  but  even 
surpassed.  For  earth  and  sea  have  peace,  cities  flourish, 
well-governed,  harmonious,  and  prosperous,  the  course  of  all 
good  things  has  reached  a  climax,  and  all  mankind  has  been 
filled  with  hopes  for  the  future  and  good  cheer  for  the 
present."  Such  is  the  optimistic  doctrine  recorded  in  a 
Halicarnassus  inscription.  [Ch.  on  The  Religious  Signifi- 
cance of  Emperor-Worship  in  S.  J.  Case,  op.  cit.,  and  W. 
Warde  Fowler  and  others,  Virgil  and  the  Messianic  Ec- 
logue.] And  so  the  devout  Roman  believed  that  "  the  birth- 
day of  the  divine  Caesar,  which  we  might  justly  rate  equal  to 
the  beginning  of  all  creation,  gave  another  aspect  to  the 
whole  world,  which  would  truly  have  perished  utterly  had  not 
Caesar,  the  common  good  fortune  of  all  men,  been  born." 

Thus  the  Eastern  pagan  world  found  its  Messiah  in  Caesar, 
the  language  in  some  places  bearing  a  close  resemblance  in 
form  as  well  as  in  spirit  to  the  Jewish  messianic  psalms  and 
prophecies.  For  example,  an  inscription,  dated  9—4  B.  c., 
in  honor  of  the  birthday  of  Augustus,  declares : 

"  This  day  has  given  the  earth  an  entirely  new  aspect. 
.  .  .  Rightly  does  he  judge  who  recognises  in  this  birthday 
the  beginning  of  life  and  of  all  the  powers  of  life ;  now  is  the 
time  ended  when  men  pitied  themselves  for  being  born.  All- 
ruling  Providence  has  filled  this  man  with  such  gifts  for  the 
salvation  of  the  world  as  designate  him  the  Saviour  for  us 
and  for  the  coming  generations ;  of  wars  will  he  make  an  end, 
and  establish  all  things  worthily.  The  birthday  of  God  has 
brought  to  the  world  glad  tidings.  Fromi  his  birthday  a 
new  era  begins."  [W.  Ramsay,  Letters  to  the  Seven 
Churches,  436.  London,  1904.  Art.,  Emperor-Worship, 
Diet,  of  the  Apostolic  Church,  I,  330-2.  The  hymns  and 
eclogues  of  Virgil  were  later  confused  with  the  Messianic 
outlook  of  the  prophets.  Hastings'  E.R.E.,  VI,  717.  Art., 
Caesarism,  in  Hastings'  E.R.E.,  III,  5(M>.] 

The  words  of  the  Sibylline  Oracle,  given  by  Virgil  some 
fifty  years  before  the  birth  of  Christ,  are  as  follows :  "  The 


The  Messianic  Movement  in  Judaism  81 

last  era,  the  subject  of  the  Sibyl  song  of  Cumae,  has  now 
arrived;  the  great  series  of  ages  begins  anew.  The  virgin 
returns  —  returns  the  reign  of  Saturn.  The  progeny  from 
heaven  now  descends.  Be  thou  propitious  to  the  Infant  Boy 
by  whom  the  Iron  Age  shall  expire,  and  the  Golden  Age  over 
the  whole  world  shall  commence.  Whilst  thou,  O  Pollio,  art 
consul,  this  glory  of  our  age  shall  be  made  manifest,  and  the 
celestial  months  begin  their  revolutions.  Under  thy  auspices 
whatever  vestiges  of  our  guilt  remain,  shall,  by  being  atoned 
for,  redeem  the  earth  from  fear  forever.  He  shall  partake 
of  the  life  of  the  gods.  He  shall  reign  over  a  world  in  peace 
with  his  father's  virtues.  The  earth,  sweet  boy,  as  her  first 
fruits,  shall  pour  thee  forth  spontaneous  flowers." 

Whether  this  reflects  the  influence  of  Hebrew  prophecy, 
or  is  an  adaptation  of  those  prevailing  Roman  ideas  that 
later  expanded  into  a  fully  developed  emperor  worship  under 
Augustus,  it  is  at  least  the  expression  of  a  vague  messianic 
expectation,  even  though  the  Messiah  be  identified  as  the 
ruling  Caesar  or  as  the  heir  to  the  throne.  [See  on  this  point 
Ellinwood,  Oriental  Religions  and  Christianity,  283-4.] 

For  Nero  an  almost  messianic  reign  was  to  commence  in 
the  East.  [E.  Renan,  TJie  Anti-Christ.]  Vespasian,  no 
doubt  as  a  result  of  the  Jewish  influences  by  which  he  was 
surrounded,  was  induced  to  accept  a  messianic  character, 
and  to  show  works  of  healing  and  miracles  in  support  of  his 
claims.  [Tacitus,  Hist.,  IV,  81-2;  Suetonius,  Vesp.,  7; 
Dion  Cass.,  LXVI,  8.]  Messianic  ideas  were,  in  fact,  rife 
in  the  Roman  empire  about  this  time  and  liable  to  attach  to 
any  emperor.  They  represent,  however,  the  influence  of  Jew- 
ish thought  upon  Roman  life  rather  than  the  reverse,  and  are 
really  an  offshoot  of  Jewish  messianic  faith.  The  messianic 
beliefs  of  Christians  of  the  first  and  second  centuries  A.  D. 
offered  comfort  to  the  citizens  of  the  Eternal  City,  proud 
mistress  of  the  world,  as  well  as  to  poverty-stricken  Jewish 
exiles.  [Art.  on  Akiba  Ben  Joseph,  in  Hastings'  E.R.E., 
I,  275.  Antichrist,  Diet,  of  Apost.  Church,  I,  67-8.  Beast, 
Ib.,  and  in  Diet,  of  Christ  and  the  Gospels.  Apocalypse, 
Ency.  Bibl.,  I,  210-1.] 

After  this  brief  survey  of  surrounding  cultures  let  us  turn  to 


22  Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

The  Growth  of  the  Messianic  Idea  in  Old  Testament  Times 

From  the  first,  Jewish  national  life  was  closely  linked  with 
the  religious.  Jehovah  was  the  god  of  the  Hebrews  and  for 
the  Hebrews,  national  in  every  sense  of  the  word,  and  in  no 
sense  international.  Moses,  the  law-giver  and  religion- 
giver,  rose  at  a  time  of  great  need  when  the  Jews  were  hard- 
pressed  from  without  and  in  danger  of  losing  national  in- 
tegrity  and  independence.  When  Moses  seemed  to  fail  them 
in  the  wilderness  and  they  no  longer  had  actual  every-day 
guidance  they  turned,  disappointed,  from  his  God  and  wor- 
shipped a  golden  calf. 

Nathan  Spira,  preacher  and  rector  of  the  Talmudic  acad- 
emy in  Cracow  (1585-1633),  a  specialist  on  the  Practical 
Cabala,  published  in  Cracow  in  1627  a  book  called  Discover- 
ing Deep  Things,  in  which  he  argued  that  Moses  prayed  to 
God  concerning  the  appearance  of  the  two  Messiahs  of  the 
house  of  Joseph  and  David.  [Dubnow,  I,  135.]  The  sup- 
position that  Moses  predicted  the  Messiah  is  based  on  Deut. 
xviii.  18:  "I  will  raise  them  up  a  Prophet  from  among  their 
brethren,  like  unto  thee,  and  will  put  my  words  in  his  mouth ; 
and  he  shall  speak  unto  them  all  that  I  shall  command  him." 
The  Jewish  rabbis  drew  elaborate  parallels  between  Moses 
and  the  Messiah.  [See  J.  H.  Allen,  Hebrew  Men  and  Times 
from  the  Patriarchs  to  the  Messiah,  392-3.  Boston,  1883. 
L.  S.  Houghton,  Hebrew  Life  and  Thought,  306.  Chicago 
1906.  A.  H.  Lewis,  Paganism  Surviving  in  Christianity, 
54-6.  New  York,  1892.  William  Smith  (Old  Testament 
History  from  the  Creation  to  the  Return  of  the  Jews  from 
Captivity,  19,  70.  New  York  N.  D.)  finds  promise  of  the 
Messiah  given  in  the  Garden  of  Eden  as  well  as  later  to 
Abraham.  See  also  S.  Schechter,  Some  Aspects  of  Rabbinic 
Theology,  291-2.  New  York  1910.] 

This  seventeenth  century  view  seems  odd  to  us  to-day. 
Yet  half  a  century  has  not  elapsed  since  an  American  theo- 
logian advanced  the  idea  that  "  in  some  sense,  vague  per- 
haps, [Abraham]  foresaw  a  Messiah  and  a  Kingdom  of 
Righteousness,  and  he  was  girded  with  confidence  to  the  last, 
though  he  died  without  the  sight."  [Frank  F.  Ellinwood, 


The  Messianic  Movement  in  Judaism  23 

Oriental  Religions  and  Christianity,  365.  New  York  2nd  ed. 
1896.] 

There  is,  of  course,  no  doubt  that  the  messianic  idea  had 
its  Biblical  inception  at  a  much  later  period.  The  Prophets 
who  wrote  before  the  Assyrian  captivity  seem  concerned 
mainly,  if  not  solely,  with  immediate  political  ills  and  reme- 
dies. They  deal  with  present  evils  and  warn  the  people  to  re- 
pent because  of  impending  disasters.  It  is  not  until  after  the 
captivity  that  we  find  distinct  promise  of  an  ultimate  rather 
than  an  immediate  millennium,  in  the  form  of  a  Messianic 
Age  wherein  all  wrongs  will  be  righted.  The  return  of  the 
Jews  under  Zerubbabel  had  been  a  disappointment,  now  that 
the  commonplaces  and  hardships  of  habitation  in  the  actual 
Jerusalem  had  displaced  the  glamour  which  surrounded  the 
Holy  City  when  they  longed  for  it,  captives  in  a  foreign 
land.  They  had  not  successfully  established  national  au- 
tonomy. Theirs  was  not  the  position  among  the  nations  of 
the  world  which  their  pride  'and  ambition  demanded.  Un- 
equal to  these  demands  —  so  at  least  they  thought  —  were 
their  leaders.  Amid  these  conditions  there  evolved  the  idea 
of  a  Messiah,  ideal  and  distant  rather  than  immediate  and 
merely  practical,  who  would  fulfil  national  ambitions.  As 
the  Messianic  Age  became  increasingly  needed  national  im- 
patience insisted  on  fixing  its  date.  [Cornill  has  advanced 
the  view  that  Zerubbabel  was  regarded  as  the  Messiah. 
Carl  H.  Cornill,  The  Prophets  of  Israel:  Popular  Sketches 
from  Old  Testament  History,  150.  Chicago,  1907.  Trans- 
lated by  S.  F.  Corkran.  Seventh  Edition.  The  book  is  one 
of  the  best  of  the  earlier  expositions.  Cheney  endorses  Cor- 
nill. Messiah,  Ency.  Bibl.,  Ill,  3059.] 

Most  of  the  Old  Testament  prophets  were  inspired  with  ' 
the  ideal  of  a  social  regeneration  of  regenerate  Israel.  It 
was  especially  during  periods  of  national  stress  that  promise 
was  given  of  a  Messiah  who  would  cleanse  the  nation  and 
raise  it  to  a  position  above  all  its  neighbors.  The  exalta- 
tion of  Jahweh-worship  to  its  preeminent  position  above  all 
of  the  other  cults  seems  to  have  owed  its  great  impetus  to 
the  spur  of  a  national  enthusiasm,  in  answer  to  a  dangerous 
external  attack  upon  the  existence  of  Israel  and  of  Israel's 


24  Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

God.  "  This  final  touch  was  given  by  the  aggression  of 
Assyria,  and,  later,  of  Babylon.  For  two  years  the  two 
tiny  Israelitish  kingdoms  had  maintained  a  precarious  inde- 
pendence between  the  mighty  empires  of  Egypt  and  Meso- 
potamia. In  the  eighth  century  it  became  certain  that  they 
could  no  longer  play  their  accustomed  game  of  clever  diplo- 
macy and  polite  subjection.  The  very  existence  of  Israel 
was  at  stake ;  and  the  fanatical  worshippers  of  Jahweh  broke 
out  in  that  memorable  ecstasy  of  enthusiasm  which  we  may 
fairly  call  the  Age  of  the  Prophets,  and  which  produced  the 
earliest  masterpieces  of  Hebrew  literature  in  the  wild  effort 
to  oppose  to  the  arms  of  the  invaders  the  passive  resistance 
of  the  supreme  Jahweh.  In  times  of  old,  the  prophets  say, 
when  Jahweh  led  the  forces  of  Israel,  the  horses  and  the 
chariots  of  their  enemies  counted  for  nought :  if  in  this  crisis 
Israel  would  cease  to  think  of  aid  from  Egypt  or  alliance 
with  Assyria  —  if  Israel  would  get  rid  of  all  her  other  gods 
and  trust  only  to  Jahweh  —  then  Jahweh  would  break  asun- 
der the  strength  of  Assyria  and  would  reduce  Babylon  to 
nothing  before  his  chosen  people."  [Grant  Allen,  Evolution 
of  the  Idea  of  God,  Ch.  X;  Prideaux,  Old  and  New  Testa- 
ment, I,  62,  141,  227.]  This  was  the  language  of  Isaiah  in 
the  crisis  of  a  grave  national  danger.  [See  Ewald,  Die 
Lehre  der  Bibel  von  Gott,  Bk.  Ill,  and  his  Old  Testament 
Theology,  363  (translated  by  Goodby).  Also  S.  D.  F. 
Salmond,  The  Christian  Doctrine  of  Immortality  (1903).] 
Under  the  Restoration,  when  the  people  and  prophets  alike 
were  optimistic  about  the  present  and  the  immediate  future, 
the  messianic  idea  was  not  so  strongly  dominant.  [Juda- 
ism, Hastings'  E.R.E.,  VII,  586,  595.  C.  F.  Kent,  The 
Origin  and  Permanent  Value  of  the  Old  Testament,  119-21. 
New  York,  1906.]  The  forecast  of  a  bright  future  became 
more  vivid  and  more  concrete  as  the  circumstances  of  the 
time  seemed  the  more  to  contradict  it.  C'est  quand  tout 
semblera  perdu  que  tout  sera  vraiment  suave,  said  a  French- 
man to  his  compatriots  after  the  Prussian  invasion  and  the 
Paris  revolution.  Jeremiah  made  a  similar  remark  to  his 
brethren  after  the  invasion  of  Palestine. 

The  Babylonian  exile  was  not  only  a  crisis  representing  a 


The  Messianic  Movement  in  Judaism  25 

fundamental  social  and  political  transformation  in  Israel, 
but  was  equally  a  period  of  religious  transformation.  The 
destruction  of  the  ancient  state  cleared  the  way  for  the  con- 
struction of  the  new,  and  religion  and  ritual  underwent  re- 
vision in  keeping  with  the  political  changes.  [C.  F.  Kent, 
Hist,  of  Jewish  People  during  the  Babylonian,  Persian,  and 
Greek  Periods,  92^-8,  147-53.  New  York  1910.  Kittel,  His- 
tory of  the  Hebrews,  II,  319,  346;  in  the  German  edition, 
II,  432,  480.  Gotha,  1909.  Emil  Schurer,  History  of  the 
Jewish  People  m  the  Time  of  Christ.  First  Division,  I,  188ff. 
Hugo  Winckler,  Geschichte  Israels  in  Emzeldarstettungen, 
I.,  chapter  entitled  Der  Jahvismus  und  die  Propheten  in 
Politishen  Leben,  7S'-113.  Leipzig  1895.  S.  E.  Fuller,  His- 
torical and  Religious  Significance  of  the  Reign  of  Manassah, 
see  esp.  71—91.  Leipzig  1912.  An  account  of  Messianic 
hope  is  given  by  H.  O.  Taylor,  Ancient  Ideals,  II,  146-71, 
132,  228-31.  See  also  Ewald,  History  of  Israel,  III,  11, 
202,  226,  242,  272,  292;  IV,  19,  50,  59-63;  V,  67-9.] 

In  the  time  of  the  prophets  Isaiah  and  Jeremiah,  "  in  its 
complete  form  the  Messianic  expectation  involved  four 
things :  the  punishment  of  foreign  nations ;  the  restoration 
of  Israel  to  its  own  land ;  a  new  covenant ;  and  the  rule  of  a 
king  of  David's  line.  .  .  .  The  political  coloring  varies 
greatly,"  some  hearts  ardently  longing  for  the  supremacy 
over  other  nations,  while  some  yearn  more  for  a  religious 
regeneration.  Isaiah's  prediction  of  the  child  to  be  born, 
whose  name,  Emmanuel,  will  testify  to  the  deliverance  of 
Jerusalem  from  its  besiegers,  suggests  a  rapturous  descrip- 
tion of  the  Coming  One,  whose  very  name  indicates  that  he 
will  be  a  hero  prince,  godlike  in  his  deeds  (Isaiah  9:5). 
[Henry  Preserved  Smith,  The  Religion  of  Israel,  247-8.] 
The  Jews  seem  to  have  held  throughout  to  a  belief  that  only 
a  supernatural  power  could  save  a  nation  that  is  once  started 
on  the  road  to  ruin.  [J.  E.  Dewe,  Psychology  of  Politics 
and  History,  180.  1910.  Emil  Schurer,  op.  cit.]  Indeed, 
Jahweh  may  intentionally  allow  Israel  to  be  conquered  by 
Babylon  in  order  to  awake  their  faith  in  him  and  so,  through 
disaster,  secure  their  united  conversion :  "  that  they  may 
know  from  the  rising  of  the  sun,  and  from  the  west,  that 


26  Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

there  is  no  God  beside  me  "  (Isaiah  xlv). 

There  is  no  doubt  that  as  Israel's  day  waned  more  and 
more,  faith  learned  to  cling  with  an  intenser  grasp  to  this 
expectation  of  the  consummation  of  a  divine  kingdom,  and  to 
the  prospect  of  the  coming  of  Jehovah  Himself  to  reign  on 
earth.  The  message  of  prophecy  became  in  increasing  meas- 
ure the  announcement  of  a  future  which  God  held  for  the 
theocracy,  wherein  right  should  finally  be  done  to  his  people, 
justice  executed  upon  His  enemies,  and  hope  fulfilled.  As 
the  vision  of  the  Messianic  era  became  larger  and  clearer,  the 
whole  conception  of  the  future  partook  of  this  expansion 
and  illumination.  [Salmond,  The  Christian  Doctrine  of  Im- 
mortality, 208.  Edinburgh,  1903.]  In  later  years,  when  the 
Messiah's  coming  seemed  too  long  postponed,  impatient  Jews 
(and  Christians)  asked:  "Where  is  his  promised  coming, 
for  since  the  fathers  fell  asleep,  all  things  remain  in  the  same 
condition  as  since  the  creation  "  (2  Peter  iii.  4*).  To  arouse 
and  invigorate,  a  Messiah  is  needed.  [See  Huidekofer, 
Judaism  at  Rome,  259.] 

The  messianic  hope  has  served  as  a  powerful  stimulus  to 
self-preservative  effort.  When  Israel,  at  whatever  period 
in  its  history,  was  impelled  to  a  more  vigorous  religious  life, 
its  marvellous  ancient  courage  against  external  enemies  re- 
vived: witness  the  days  of  Josiah,  those  of  Zedekiah,  those 
also  of  Zerubbabel.  [Ewald,  History  of  Israel,  IV,  242, 
272;  V,  117,  27.] 

To  assert  that  these  efforts  were  self-preservative  is  not 
inconsistent  with  the  fact  that  every  recrudescence  of  na- 
tionalism has  brought  misfortune  to  the  Jews  and  to  Juda- 
ism, that  "  it  was  the  cause  of  the  catastrophe  of  578  B.  c., 
of  the  fall  of  the  Maccabees,  of  the  decay  of  the  Sadducees, 
of  the  destruction  by  Titus,  and  of  the  desolation  of  Judaea 
in  136."  [Herbert  Loewe,  in  Judaism,  Hastings'  E.R.E., 
VII,  608,  seems  to  imply  otherwise.] 

The  Messianic  Idea  in  the  Apocryphal  Books  —  The  First 
Two  Centuries  B.  C.  and  the  First  Century  A.  D. 

The  development  of  the  messianic  hope  in  the  decades  pre- 
ceding and  following  the  appearance  of  Christianity  can  be 


The  Messianic  Movement  m  Judaism  27 

read  in  the  Apocryphal  books,  made  accessible  to  the  lay 
world  largely  through  the  patient  efforts  of  Dr.  R.  H. 
Charles.  As  has  been  mentioned,  in  the  second  century  B.  c., 
the  messianic  hope  was  practically  non-existent.  "  So  long 
as  Judas  and  Simon  were  chiefs  of  the  nation,  the  need  of  a 
Messiah  was  hardly  felt.  But  in  the  first  half  of  the  next 
century  (i.  e.,  the  first  century  B.  c.)  it  was  very  different. 
Subject  to  ruthless  oppressions,  the  righteous  were  in  sore 
need  of  help.  But  inasmuch  as  the  Maccabean  princes  were 
themselves  the  leaders  in  this  oppression,  the  thoughts  of 
the  faithful  were  forced  to  look  for  divine  aid.  Thus  tli£ 
bold  and  original  thinker  to  whom  we  owe  the  Parables/tfon- 
ceived  the  Messiah  as  the  supernatural  Son  of  Man,  who 
should  enjoy  universal  dominion  and  execute  judgment  on 
men  and  angels.  But  other  religious  thinkers,  returning  to 
the  study  of  the  Old  Testament,  revived  the  expectation  of 
the  prophetic  Messiah,  sprung  from  the  house  and  lineage  of 
David.  These  very  divergent  conceptions  took  such  a  firm 
hold  of  the  national  consciousness  that  henceforth  the  Mes- 
siah becomes  almost  the  central  and  chief  figure  in  the  Messi- 
anic kingdom."  [R.  H.  Charles,  Escliatology,  296.]  The 
Messiah  would,  after  purging  Jerusalem,  allow  no  stranger 
to  dwell  within  the  gates;  "  the  sojourner  and  the  stranger 
shall  dwell  with  them  no  more,"  says  the  Psalms  of  Solomon 
(written  70-40  B.  c.).  As  for  the  ungodly  nations  he  will 
destroy  them  with  the  word  of  his  mouth ;  the  hostile  nations 
shall  be  destroyed. 

He  shall  judge  the  nations  and  the  peoples  with  the  wisdom  of 

his  righteousness 
And  he  shall  possess  the  nations  of  the  heathen  to  serve  him 

beneath  his  yoke. 
And  he  shall  have  mercy  on  all  the  nations  that  come  before 

him  in  fear. 
(Yea)  the  nations  shall  come  from  the  ends  of  the  world  to  see 

his  glory, 
Bringing  as  gifts  her  sons  that  had  fainted. 

The  future  that  is  predicted  and  fondly  hoped  for  is  the 
time  when  God  will  succor  his  own  people,  the  psalmists  dwell- 


28  Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

ing  on  the  vengeance  that  will  befall  hostile  nations  and  the 
sinners  among  men,  rather  than  on  the  saving  features  of  this 
kingdom.  It  was  to  be  not  so  much  a  kingdom  of  grace  as 
one  of  power  vindicating  national  superiority.  In  the  Apoc- 
alypse of  Baruch,  written  in  the  second  half  of  the  first  cen- 
tury A.  D.,  the  Messiah,  who  in  the  first  Apocalypse  is  con- 
ceived as  wholly  passive,  is  here  pictured  as  a  warrior  who 
slays  the  enemies  of  Israel  with  his  own  hand.  "  Against 
Him  all  the  heathen  powers  are  arrayed  under  a  great 
leader."  [Ib.,  327.] 

For  the  Pharisee  who  wrote  the  Similitudes  of  Enoch, 
"  the  blood  of  the  martyred  Pharisees  cries  out  to  Heaven, 
and  the  angels  of  heaven  join  their  supplications  with  those 
of  the  living.  He  finds  relief  in  two  directions:  first,  in  his 
conception  of  the  origin  of  evil,  and,  second,  in  the  belief  in 
a  preexistent  Messiah,  who  will  come  and  establish  a  uni- 
versal kingdom  of  righteousness,  and  execute  judgment  upon 
all."  (Ib.,  75.)  Israel,  oppressed  from  without,  must  have 
a  new  ruler,  one  who  brings  with  him  not  only  new  religious 
conceptions  but  new  temporal  authority  that  will  vindicate 
the  reality  of  this  people's  racial  authority,  and  vanquish 
every  formidable  foe. 

That  portion  of  the  Book  of  Sirach  (second  century  B.  c.) 
which  refers  to  a  Messianic  hope  Schmidt  [See  Ecclesiasticus, 
in  the  Temple  Bible,  p.  xxvi.]  believes  to  be  "  manifestly  an 
interpolation."  However  this  may  be,  "  it  voices  the  feel- 
ings of  a  people  sorely  oppressed  by  a  foreign  enemy,  long- 
ing for  deliverance  and  vengeance,  encouraged  by  prophecies 
concerning  the  '  end '  and  anxious  to  see  the  fulfilment  of 
their  predictions." 

As  regards  the  distribution  and  occurrence  of  the  Messi- 
anic belief  the  absence  of  it  in  certain  of  the  Jewish  apocry- 
phal literature  is  no  less  significant  than  its  presence  in  other 
writings.  We  have  noted  its  prevalence  in  the  literature  of 
doctrinally  torn  Palestine  during  the  century  or  more  pre- 
ceding the  appearance  of  Christ,  and  in  the  first  century  of 
our  era.  In  none  of  the  Alexandrian  literature  of  these  cen- 
turies, however,  do  we  find  expression  of  the  hope  of  a  per- 
sonal Messiah.  Its  absence  in  the  Alexandrian  writings  is 


The  Messianic  Movement  in  Judaism  29 

"  explained  by  the  fact  that,  removed  from  the  center  of 
political  aspiration  and  life,  and  influenced  by  the  more  spir- 
itualized Judaism  represented  in  the  Book  of  Wisdom,  the 
faith  and  ideals  of  the  Alexandrian  Jews  did  not  suffer  secu- 
larization to  the  same  extent  as  those  of  their  Palestinian 
brethren."  [It  must  be  pointed  out,  however,  that  if  the 
conception  of  a  personal  Messiah  is  absent,  that  of  a  messi- 
anic kingdom  is  not.  The  book  known  as  Slavonic  Enoch, 
for  example,  represents  this  kingdom  as  being  realized  in  a 
coming  millennium  —  not  as  near  at  hand.] 

Great  is  the  contrast  in  the  Palestinian  literature  of  the 
same  centuries,  wherein  "  we  can  trace  diversity  and  modi- 
fication of  the  Messianic  belief."  The  Assumption  of  Moses 
is  a  protest  against  the  hope  of  a  personal  Messiah  —  a  hope 
then  prevalent  and  potent  enough  to  call  forth  this  extended 
and  dignified  protest  —  and  a  plea  for  reversion  to  the  older 
theocratic  idea.  Again,  "  the  Apocalypse  of  Baruch,  in  the 
sections  written  before  A.  D.  70,  foreshadows  the  coming  of 
the  Messiah ;  but  of  the  sections  composed  after  the  destruc- 
tion of  Jerusalem  some  cherish  the  hope  of  a  Messianic  king- 
dom without  a  Messiah,  others  look  for  a  speedy  consumma- 
tion and  judgment,  and  one  fragment  bears  witness  to  the 
survival  of  the  Sadducaic  view  of  the  present  and  the  future." 
In  at  least  three  of  the  books  written  after  A.  D.  70  (Baruch, 
Sibylline  Oracles,  and  the  Apocalypse  of  Abraham) ,  although 
there  is  the  vision  of  a  Messianic  kingdom  there  is  no  refer- 
ence to  a  personal  Messiah.  Evidently  the  destruction  of 
Jerusalem  dealt  a  severe  blow  to  the  political  hopes  of  Juda- 
ism, but  that  they  were  not  entirely  destroyed  is  clear  from 
4  Ezra,  where  the  person  of  the  Messiah  is  brought  into 
the  foreground  of  the  picture  of  the  future."  [Maldwyn 
Hughes,  Ethics  of  the  Jewish  Apocryphal  Literature,  309— 
12,  249.  Alexandrian  Theology,  Hastings'  E.R.E.,  I,  309.] 

The  Jews  of  the  mother-country  were  face  to  face  with  the 
great  crises  which  threatened  their  nation;  those  of  Alex- 
andria, the  Jews  of  the  Dispersion,  viewed  the  course  of  events 
from  a  more  dispassionate  standpoint.  If  the  latter  saw 
them  from  a  truer  perspective,  the  former  viewed  them  with 
ore  vital  interest  and  national  concern.  [Dewick,  op. 


.. 


30  Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

cit.,  ch.  X.]  It  was  only  in  later  centuries  that  Alexandria 
became  "  the  most  fatal  scene  of  Jewish  turbulence  and  Jew- 
ish calamity."  [H.  H.  Milman,  op.  cit.,  Ill,  42ff.  N. 
Schmidt,  op.  cit.,  80-1,  76.  Ch.  on  the  Alexandrians,  in 
J.  H.  Allen,  op.  cit.] 

The  history  of  Palestine  from  about  105  B.C.  till  63  B.  c. 
exhibits  a  struggle  for  power  by  the  opposing  sects  of  the 
Pharisees  and  the  Maccabean  house  with  alternating  suc- 
cesses and  failures.  "  When  one  party  was  in  power  it  per- 
secuted the  other."  The  psalms  of  Solomon  bear  witness 
to  the  bitterness  of  this  mutual  hatred,  a  bitterness  aug- 
mented by  the  theological  in  addition  to  the  political  differ- 
ences. Thus  the  first  century  B.  c.  which  introduced  to  Juda- 
ism and  to  the  larger  Gentile  world  John  the  Baptist  and 
Christ  himself  was  a  time  of  intense  activity,  and  of  the 
impact  of  many  conflicting  forces,  all  of  which  played  their 
part  in  shaping  the  Messianic  hope.  [M.  Hughes,  op.  cit., 
25-6,  66.] 

It  was  the  attempt  to  solve  the  problem,  "  why  it  is  that 
Israel,  which  with  all  its  perversity  is  more  faithful  to  the 
law  than  other  nations,  is  yet  oppressed  by  them,"  that  led 
the  apocalyptists  to  cast  their  gaze  into  the  future,  and  to 
foreshadow  a  Messianic  kingdom  in  which  Israel  and  the  law 
should  be  vindicated  and  its  enemies  overthrown.  The 
emergence  of  this  Messianic  Prince  is  pictured  in  Jubilees 
and  the  Testaments.  [Eschatology,  in  Hastings'  E.R.E. 
Apocalyptic  Literature  (by  R.  H.  Charles)  in  Ency.  Britt. 
II ;  in  Ency.  Bibl.,  I,  213-50 ;  in  Diet,  of  Christ  and  the  Gos- 
pels, Apocrypha,  in  the  last  mentioned,  I,  79-94.  Eschatol- 
ogy (by  R.  H.  Charles),  Ency.  Bibl.,  II,  1351-72,  and  in 
Diet,  of  the  Apostolic  Church,  I,  334-65.  Apocalypse,  and 
Christ,  Christology,  Ib.,  I,  71-81 ;  I,  177-99.  Also,  in  Ib., 
art,  Barnabas,  Epistle  of,  139-40 ;  Baruch,  Apocalypse  of, 
142-4;  Esdras,  The  Second  Book  of,  365-6;  Enoch,  Book 
of,  334-40;  Assumption  of  Moses,  107 ;  Ascension  of  Isaiah, 
100.]  In  view  of  this  political  tinge  it  is  not  surprising  that 
Cyrus  was  regarded  by  the  Israelites  as  Messiah,  for  he 
seemed  to  insure  political  salvation.  [P.P.C.  De  La  Saussaye, 
Lehrbuch  der  Religious  geschichte  I,  446.  Tubingen,  1905.] 


The  Messianic  Movement  in  Judaism  31 

Resuscitation  of  the  Messianic  Idea  m  Roman  Days 

If  this  relationship  between  the  harshness  of  the  times 
and  the  intensity  of  the  messianic  hope  is  true  of  the  days 
of  the  prophets,  it  is  none  the  less  true  of  a  later  Israel,  of 
the  Israel  which  meets  us  in  the  centuries  preceding  and  fol- 
lowing the  birth  of  Christ.  "  Had  the  dream  of  Daniel 
been  realized,"  it  has  been  said,  "  and  the  dominion  over  the 
nations  been  given  to  the  saints  of  the  Maccabean  period, 
the  king  of  Israel  would  have  been  worshipped  as  a  God,  and 
Jerusalem  rather  than  Rome  would  have  become  the  seat  of 
the  imperial  cult."  [Nathaniel  Schmidt,  The  Prophet  of 
Nazareth,  71-2.  1905.] 

That  dream  of  Jewish  national  domination  was,  however, 
not  to  be  realized.  The  revival  of  national  strength  was 
short-lived.  As  national  prosperity  waxed  the  messianic 
idea  waned,  and,  when  Israel  fell  upon  evil  days,  the  messi- 
anic idea,  now  in  more  favorable  soil,  took  new  root  and  bore 
fruit  abundantly.  This  inverse  relationship  is  well  estab- 
lished. "  Scarcely  can  it  be  supposed  that  the  cry  for  a 
Messiah  burst  forth  with  loud  accents  while  the  Maccabean 
prince,  Simon,  ruled  over  the  country.  .  .  .  The  Jewish 
people  were  then  content  with  the  prevailing  order  of  things. 
If  it  be  true,  as  the  author  of  the  first  book  of  Maccabees 
avers,  that  in  those  days  '  every  man  was  sitting  under  his 
vine,  and  under  his  fig-tree,'  we  cannot  for  one  moment  sup- 
pose that,  under  such  realization  of  Messianic  bliss,  there 
should  have  existed  an  impulsive  yearning  toward  another 
ruler,  the  imagined  Messiah  of  the  house  of  David.  .  .  .  The 
same  may  be  said  of  the  prosperous  reign  of  his  son,  John 
Hyrcanus  (B.  c.  135—105).  Under  him  almost  a  Davidic 
splendor,  greatness  and  power  prevailed.  By  the  side  of 
proud  national  self-consciousness  the  morbid  sigh  for  an 
unknown  and  unknowable  royal  personage  who  should  yet 
improve  upon  the  present  common  happiness,  can  not  well  be 
imagined  to  have  burst  forth. 

"  The  Messianic  vision,  it  must  be  admitted  by  all,  was 
originally  born  of  gloom.  It  was  always  expressed,  with 
lore  or  less  demonstrative  force,  under  the  somber  aspects 


32  Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

of  the  times.  Its  '  reason  of  existence  '  was  either  the  weary 
night  of  oppression  —  or  the  dim  twilight  of  a  dubious  des- 
tiny. In  the  serene  radiance  of  the  light  of  freedom  and 
peace,  or  the  lucid  gleam  of  temporal  bliss,  the  motive  for  its 
being  is  only  hypothetical.  If  it  nevertheless  exists  under 
such  favorable  conditions,  it  is  due  to  a  mere  emotional  at- 
tachment to  the  past  and  a  pious  repugnance  to  part  from 
the  wonted  track  cut  by  venerated  ancestors  and  trodden  all 
along  in  subsequent  ages.  That,  therefore,  the  Jews  were, 
under  the  prosperous  reign  of  the  high-priestly  prince,  John 
Hyrcanus,  little  troubled  about  the  Messianic  future,  may 
be  set  down  as  a  reasonable  conclusion."  [I.  Schwab,  A 
Review  of  the  Messianic  Idea  from  the  Earliest  Times  to  the 
Rise  of  Christianity.  Published  in  Judaism  at  the  World's 
Parliament  of  Religions.  Cincinnati  (R.  Clarke),  1894.] 

Seldom  in  the  history  of  mankind  has  the  need  for  a  re- 
deemer been  so  strongly  felt  as  in  the  century  before  and 
the  century  after  Christ,  the  apocalyptic  frame  of  mind 
being  so  wide-spread  that  even  a  Seneca  could  not  keep  his 
thoughts  from  the  early  arrival  of  the  end  of  the  world. 
The  messianic  character  of  Augustus  reflects  the  temper  of 
mind  of  the  emperor-worshipping  Romans  of  this  age. 
[Arthur  Drews,  The  Christ  Myth,  35.  Art.,  Caesarism,  in 
Hastings'  E.R.E.,  III,  50-6.] 

If  security  lulled  the  messianic  hope  into  quiescence,  dan- 
ger and  oppression  revived  it.  For  its  stimulus  Judaism 
has  many  peoples  to  thank,  Assyrians,  Egyptians,  Ro- 
mans, and,  later,  many  a  European  people.  The  Apoca- 
lypse fitly  represents  the  messianic  movement  as  beginning 
at  the  time  when  Rome  was  extending  her  dominions  over 
Judea.  Its  inception  was  amid  "  the  beginnings  of  sor- 
row," and  the  forerunners  of  the  Messiah's  advent  were  dis- 
asters without  precedent.  "  Revolution  and  Messianism," 
wrote  Ernest  Renan,  "  were  indeed  the  ruin  of  the  Jewish 
people  considered  as  a  nation,"  and,  perhaps  one  should  add, 
"  the  true  vocation  of  that  people,  its  one  contribution  to 
the  structure  of  a  world-wide  civilization." 

The  first  evidence  of  belief  in  a  Messiah  who  was  expected 
to  deliver  Israel  has  been  attributed  to  the  period  following 


The  Messianic  Movement  in  Judaism  33 

the  conquest  of  Palestine  by  Pompey,  in  63  B.  c.  [N. 
Schmidt,  op.  cit.,  68.]  In  view  of  the  prevalent  Messianic 
expectation,  it  can  not  be  considered  pure  accident  that 
Dosithee  proclaimed  his  messiahship  among  the  Samaritans 
at  almost  the  same  time  that  Christ  proclaimed  his  messiah- 
ship among  the  Jews.  [Krauss,  Dosithee  et  les  Dositheens. 
Rev.  d.  Etudes  Juives,  Vol.  42  (1901),  27-42;  A.  Buchler, 
Les  Dositheens  dans  le  Midrash,  Ib.,  Vol.  43  (1901),  50-71; 
Vol.  42,  p.  220-31.  Dositheans,  in  Cath.  Ency.,  and  in  the 
New  Inter.  Ency.  (1915),  VII,  195.]  According  to  Origen, 
Dosithee  was  long  believed  by  some  of  his  followers  to  be  still 
alive  on  this  earth. 

The  galling  oppression  of  the  stranger,  and  the  bitter 
sense  of  helplessness  under  the  crushing  power  of  the  Roman 
legions,  bred  in  the  Jews  a  wild  despair  which  made  them 
look  forward  more  eagerly  than  ever  to  the  appearance  of 
some  one  with  extraordinary  powers,  who,  as  the  Messiah, 
would,  in  accordance  with  ancient  oracles,  free  them,  and, 
with  them,  the  world,  from  the  prevailing  material  and  moral 
bondage.  [P.  Goodman,  A  History  of  the  Jews,  28.  Lon- 
don, 1909.] 

While  the  people  were  miserable,  impatient,  and  longing 
for  a  leader,  "  if  such  a  hero  had  arisen,  and  had  dealt  with 
the  Romans  as  Judas  Maccabeus  had  dealt  with  the  Syrians, 
he  would  assuredly  have  been  hailed  by  the  Jews  as  the  Mes- 
siah, the  anointed  of  the  Lord.  The  restlessness  and  riot- 
ing, which  had  their  center  in  Jerusalem,  prevailed  through- 
out Palestine,  and  nowhere  more  strongly  than  in  Galilee,  the 
northern  provinces  in  which  Jesus,  the  son  of  Joseph  a  car- 
penter, first  attracted  attention.  When  Jesus  was  a  tiny 
child  a  certain  Judas  of  Galilee,  a  very  ordinary  hero  indeed, 
only  just  escaped  the  perilous  distinction  of  being  altogether 
believed  in  by  his  countrymen.  Judas  the  Galilean  had 
headed  a  frantic  outburst  of  passionate  patriotism.  It  had 
been  locally  successful.  Led  by  him,  the  Galileans  had  re- 
volted and  the  Romans  had  retreated,  and,  like  his  great 
namesake,  this  Judas  conquered  for  a  while.  But  it  was  for 
a  very  little  while;  and  his  followers  had  not  time  to  turn 
this  leader  of  theirs  into  Messiah  before  he  was  crucified 


34  Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

by  the  Romans  as  a  rebel.  The  enthusiastic  reception  which 
was  given  to  this  poor  straw  of  a  hero  shows  the  tendency  of 
the  time  and  the  temper  of  the  people.  The  very  stones 
seemed  crying  out  for  a  Redeemer  and  Deliverer  to  come 
unto  Zion.  Under  the  circumstances  a  Messiah  was  almost 
bound  to  appear."  [Lady  Magnus,  Outlines  of  Jewish  His- 
tory, 49,  226.  Philadelphia,  1890.  Hope  for  a  political 
Messiah  who  will  save  from  Roman  domination  is  recognised 
by  G.  P.  Fisher,  History  of  the  Christian  Church,  16.] 

It  is  easy  to  forget  but  important  to  remember  that  in  the 
days  of  Jesus  the  word  "  Messiah  "  would  inevitably  suggest 
a  powerful  king,  a  warrior,  a  sudden  and  successful  revolu- 
tion. The  Son  of  Man  as  pictured  in  Enoch  37-70  will 
execute  judgment  on  men  and  angels  alike.  In  fact,  it  was 
only  after  the  year  A.  D.  135,  in  Talmudic  times,  that  Juda- 
ism accepted  belief  in  a  Messiah  who  would  die a  belief 

that  may  be  related  directly  to  the  death  of  the  national 
Messiah-hero,  Bar-Kokebas.  [Messiah,  in  Hastings'  E.R.E., 
VIII,  580.  Jesus  Christ,  Ib.,  VII,  514,  517.  Eschatology, 
Ib.,  V,  379-80,  381.] 

Jesus  of  Nazareth  was  not  accepted  by  the  more  patriotic 
Jews  as  their  Messiah  for  he  failed  to  respond  to  national 
political  hopes.  Only  in  the  Greek  language  does  the  name 
"  Christ  "  signify  the  "  Anointed  One,"  i.  e.,  the  "  Messiah." 
It  is  true  Josephus  does  not  attribute  a  political  philosophy 
to  the  Zealots,  the  sect  led  by  Judas  against  the  Romans, 
and  says  nothing  of  the  messianic  hope  that  dominated  them ; 
but  his  silence  may  well  be  out  of  regard  for  Roman  feeling. 
[An  interpretation  given  by  Norman  Bentwick,  Josephus, 
117.  Philadelphia,  1914,] 

The  belief  in  the  coming  of  a  triumphant  Messiah  was  so 
widely  diffused  as  to  be  mentioned  by  both  Suetonius  and 
Tacitus,  [Cf.  H.  H.  Milman,  History  of  the  Jews,  II,  21O- 
11.]  so  that  Josephus  must  certainly  have  been  cognisant 
of  it.  Only  by  virtue  of  this  prevailing  idea  can  we  explain 
that  state  of  expectancy  which  seldom  failed  to  welcome  any 
would-be  Messiah.  Thus  it  was  that  Theudas  (beheaded 
46  A.  D.)  could  persuade  the  people  to  follow  him  to  the  river 
Jordan,  expecting  to  see  its  waters  miraculously  divide  as 


The  Messianic  Movement  in  Judaism  35 

the  Red  Sea  divided  for  Moses.  An  Egyptian  impostor 
(about  58  A.  D.)  could  induce  them  to  go  out  to  the  Mount 
of  Olives  expecting  to  see  the  walls  of  Jerusalem  fall  pros- 
trate at  his  command.  Even  when  the  Roman  soldiers  were 
making  preparations  to  set  fire  to  the  temple,  a  Messiah 
was  able  to  assemble  6,000  men,  women  and  children,  into  its 
courts  and  porches  to  await  a  promised  miraculous  deliver- 
ance. [See  Josephus,  Ant.,  XX,  and  Wars,  VI;  Edersheim, 
Sketches  of  Jewish  Social  Life  in  the  Days  of  Christ,  65-7. 
London,  1896.] 

Many  of  these,  like  Menahem,  son  of  Judah,  the  Galilean, 
who  appeared  during  the  siege  of  Jerusalem,  clothed  in  royal 
garments,  and  led  the  attack  upon  the  Roman  garrison, 
finally  fell  victims  to  their  messianic  pride  or  arbitrariness. 
All  of  them  were  inspired  with  a  fervor  as  patriotic  as  it  was 
religious. 

Under  the  prosperous  rule  of  the  Maccabees,  the  old  pro- 
phetic hope  of  a  Messiah-king  of  David's  line  either  lay 
dormant,  or  else  became  transformed  into  the  expectation  of 
a  great  Maccabean  Priest-King  of  the  House  of  Levi. 
When  the  Pharisees  found  themselves  oppressed  by  the  ex- 
isting King  of  the  Jews,  the  Messianic  hope  revived.  It  is 
clear,  also,  that  at  the  time  of  Christ  we  need  not  expect  to 
find  one  stereotyped  form  of  Messianic  hope.  It  was,  in- 
deed, a  pious  belief  of  certain  individuals,  not  a  recognised 
article  of  the  Pharisaic  creed,  and,  where  the  belief  was  held, 
its  expression  varied  considerably.  [Dewick,  Primitive 
Christian  Eschatology,  ch.  IX,  and  Emil  Schiirer,  op.  cit.] 

The  expectation  of  a  Messiah  was  no  part  of  the  doctrine 
of  the  Hillelites,  though  it  was  exuberant  among  the  Graeco- 
Roman  Jews,  and,  among  them,  was  raised  to  a  high  pitch  by 
the  edict  against  the  Hebrews  promulgated  by  Tiberius  and 
Sejan.  [I.  M.  Wise,  History  of  the  Hebrews'  Second  Com- 
monwealth, 265.  Cincinnati,  1880.]  The  success  of  Jesus' 
Messiahship  varied  according  to  the  needs  of  the  respective 
classes  to  whom  it  appealed.  [Ib.,  260.]  Nor  is  this  rela- 
tivism peculiar  to  any  age.  The  Pharisees  cherished  the 
Messianic  hope,  but  with  them  it  was  interwoven  with  the 
hope  of  national  and  political  redemption  which,  with  them, 


36  Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

was  inseparable  from  it.  This  was  also  essentially  the  doc- 
trine of  the  Zealots,  whose  passionate  zeal  sought  to  hasten 
the  day  of  national  retribution  upon  Israel's  enemies, 
[Riggs,  History  of  the  Jewish  People,  108,  249.  New  York, 
1902.] 

Though  the  messianic  hope  was  rampant  in  Palestine,  in 
the  books  of  the  Cabbala,  which  were  given  shape  among  the 
Egyptian  Jews,  the  names  "  Son  of  Man  "  and  "  Anointed 
Prince,"  the  terms  used  when  referring  to  the  Messiah,  do 
not  occur.  [C.  R.  Conder,  Judas  Maccabaeus  and  the  Jew- 
ish War  of  Independence,  68  (1879).]  These  Alexandrian 
Jews  were  apart  from  the  political  depression  and  turmoil, 
and  messianic  doctrines  were  correspondingly  absent.  [A 
detailed  account  of  the  conditions  and  doctrines  of  the  Alex- 
andrian Jews  of  this  and  proximate  periods  will  be  found  in 
August  Bludan,  Juden  und  Judenverfolgungen  im  alien 
Alexandria,  esp.  13-28,  Munster  i.  W.  1906.  Also,  N. 
Schmidt,  Prophet  of  Nazareth.]  Messianic  hope  is  ex- 
pressed in  the  Book  of  Enoch  and  in  that  of  Solomon  (Pales- 
tinian), whereas  there  is  no  reference  to  it  in  the  Sibylline 
Oracles  (Alexandrian).  [Ewald,  History  of  Israel,  V,  361, 
346,  484.] 

Most  of  the  Messianic  prophecies  are,  as  Professor  Kent 
has  remarked,  [op.  cit.,  84ff.,  175.]  determined  by  the  con- 
ditions and  especially  by  the  age  in  which  the  prophet  lived, 
and  their  success  has  been  closely  related  to  the  nature  of 
the  appeal.  Before  the  appearance  of  John  the  Baptist 
and  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth  the  outrages  perpetrated  by  Pilate 
had  given  rise  to  several  prophets  and  saviors.  One  of  these, 
a  Samaritan,  called  his  fellow-patriots  to  Mount  Gerizzim, 
promising,  in  proof  of  his  divine  mission,  to  show  them  the 
sacred  vessels  and  the  ark  made  by  Moses,  these  objects,  ac- 
cording to  Samaritan  tradition,  being  buried  on  that  Mount. 
Many  of  his  followers  came  under  arms ;  but  the  ever-wary 
Roman  knew  the  political  danger  involved  in  religious  fer- 
vour and  promptly  quelled  the  uprising.  [I.  M.  Wise,  op. 
cit.,  244,  253.]  Syria,  which  had  been  one  of  the  most  op- 
pressed of  the  Roman  provinces  was  most  fruitful  in  messi- 
anic religious  movements,  while  Alexandria,  a  refuge  from 


The  Messianic  Movement  in  Judaism  37 

political  oppression,  furnished  none  —  not  even  an  appealing 
messianic  idea. 

In  Palestine  itself  there  was,  prior  to  the  appearance  of 
Christ,  not  one  prevailing  idea  of  the  desired  and  expected 
Messiah,  but  at  least  two  distinct  ones:  there  were  two 
classes,  each  with  its  own  peculiar  needs  and  hopes,  and  these 
were  not  always  reconcilable  not  to  say  coincident.  If  Mr. 
Louis  Wallis'  interpretation  is  correct,  [Sociological  Study 
of  the  Old  Testament]  the  messianic  idea  found  its  source 
in  the  desire  of  the  upper  classes  of  Israel  to  have  foreigners 
work  for  them,  while  they,  the  successful  peoples,  ate  the 
wealth  of  the  nations  and  succeeded  to  the  world's  glory. 
"  But  the  lower  classes  were  infected  with  social  revolution, 
and  wanted  to  set  mishpat,  or  justice  in  the  land."  The 
final  catastrophe  of  Judaism,  its  last  attempt  to  get  rid  of 
the  Roman  yoke,  is  directly  traceable  to  a  messianic  upris- 
ing of  the  lower  class.  Although  later  in  its  history  Chris- 
tianity was  first  adopted  by  the  higher  classes  and  by  them 
imposed  upon  the  peasantry  (as  in  France,  England,  Ger- 
many, and  most  European  countries),  in  the  first  centuries 
of  its  life  it  was  distinctively  and  almost  exclusively  the  reli- 
gion of  the  lower  classes,  of  the  poor  and  oppressed.  To 
them  it  promised  salvation  from  the  oppressor,  regeneration 
and  superiority  that  made  the  poor  rich,  the  afflicted  happy 
despite  their  misery.  Such  a  religion  was  not  for  the  higher 
classes  because  the  oppression  felt  by  them  was  the  result  of 
conditions  external  to  the  nation,  not  incidental  to  the  social 
life,  as  was  the  case  with  the  poorer  classes.  [Prideaux, 
op.  cit.,  II,  404-5,  425.  1849.  Riggs,  op.  cit.,  152-3,  211, 
228.  The  Old  Testament  is,  for  the  most  part  written  from 
the  aristocratic  point  of  view,  that  of  the  ruling  and  wealthy 
classes,  and  voices  their  aspirations.  For  example  from  its 
account  we  might  supose  that  all  of  the  Jews  were  carried  away 
by  Assyria  during  the  captivity,  whereas  only  the  leaders  and 
members  of  the  upper  classes  were  taken.  The  New  Testament, 
on  the  other  hand,  reflects  the  views  of  the  poorer  classes  who 
had  little  to  do  with  the  affairs  of  the  nation.]  Thus  the 
success  of  Christianity,  like  the  progress  of  the  Jewish  reli- 
gion, is  in  large  part  a  reflex  of  political  conditions. 


38  Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

Some  Jewish  Messiahs  After  the  Time  of  Christ 

The  hope  for  the  advent  of  the  Messiah  lay  dormant  in 
the  people  awaiting  for  its  fulfillment  the  time  of  pressing 
need ;  this  hope  reached  its  fulfilment,  or  at  least  its  highest 
tension,  in  the  troublous  times  immediately  preceding  the 
destruction  of  Jerusalem  by  Titus.  "  From  the  simple  idea 
of  a  warrior,  a  protector  of  the  people  against  foreign  foes, 
the  Messiah  idea  developed  into  the  expectation  of  the  rise 
of  a  great  and  glorious  king  of  the  house  of  David."  [  J.  A. 
Greenstone,  The  Messiah  Idea  in  Jewish  History,  4£-3,  54?, 
84,  111-112.]  "The  darker  the  present  grew  ...  the 
more  eagerly  did  their  minds  turn  to  the  comfort  offered  by 
the  apocalyptic  promises,  which  predicted  the  end  of  their 
sufferings  and  the  dawn  of  their  delivery."  [Buttenweiser, 
in  Jewish  Encyclopedia.]  Indeed,  subsequently  to  B.  c.  63, 
the  Jews  at  Rome  had  taught  the  coming  of  a  King,  or  Mes- 
siah, who  would  have  been  for  the  rest  of  Europe  a  King 
from  the  East : 

"  And  '  the  People  '  of  the  Great  God  shall  again  shine, 
Loaded  with  wealth,  with  gold  and  silver, 
And  fine  purple." 

As  already  suggested  there  can  be  little  doubt  that  a 
Messianic  excitement  "  accompanied  as  usual  by  anti-Roman 
feeling,"  was  largely  responsible  for  the  Jewish  revolt  sup- 
pressed by  Titus.  At  this  time  as  well  as  through  the  fol- 
lowing fifteen  centuries  or  longer  [see  below  the  account  of 
Molcho],  Rome's  downfall  was  to  be  the  sign  of  the  Messiah's 
approach ;  or  the  return  of  Nero,  "  the  Beast,"  would  herald 
it.  "  A  dog  chased  the  lion  which  throttled  the  Shepherds  " 
of  Israel;  the  chasing  dog  was  a  powerful  Messiah.  The 
two  epistles  of  Paul  which  bear,  of  all  his  writings,  the 
strongest  evidence  of  an  intense  Messianic  expectation  were 
written  at  a  time  when  the  notion  was  prevalent  in  the  Jew- 
ish aristocracy,  that  an  emperor  at  Rome  would  rival  God ; 
while  in  the  second  epistle  of  Paul  reflecting  this  belief,  we 
have  a  reference  to  this  heathen  emperor  as  one  who  is  to 
precede  the  Messiah's  coming.  [See  I  Thess.  4  and  5;  II 


The  Messianic  Movement  in  Judaism  39 

Thess.  2.  Paul,  Diet,  of  Chr.  and  Gospels,  II,  890.  Christ, 
Christology,  Diet.  Apost.  Ch.,  I,  188-91.]  This  view  was 
essentially  at  one  with  that  belief  in  the  Anti-Christ  which 
prevailed  through  the  Middle  Ages  as  an  inheritance  from 
New  Testament  times :  An  Anti-Christ  who  would  be  liberal 
in  bribes,  of  unbounded  wealth,  capable  of  performing  great 
signs  and  wonders  so  as  to  deceive  the  very  elect,  and  at 
last  tear  the  moral  veil  from  his  face  revealing  himself  a 
monster  of  impiety  and  cruelty.  He  would  inaugurate  that 
awful  persecution  which  would  last  three  years  and  a  half, 
excelling  all  previous  persecutions  in  horror.  "  When  the 
Son  of  Man  cometh,  shall  he  find  faith  on  the  earth?  "  asks 
Christ  as  though  expecting  the  answer,  "  No."  The  vessel 
of  the  Church,  says  Marchantius,  a  seventeenth  century  theo- 
logian of  Flanders,  will  disappear  in  the  foam  of  that  boil- 
ing deep  of  infidelity  and  be  hidden  in  the  blackness  of  that 
storm  of  destruction  which  sweeps  over  the  earth.  The  sun 
shall  be  darkened,  and  the  moon  shall  not  give  her  light,  and 
the  stars  shall  fall  from  heaven.  After  the  lapse  of  those 
three  and  a  half  years  Christ  will  descend  to  earth,  destroy 
Anti-Christ  and  his  world  power,  thus  avenging  the  blood  of 
the  saints.  [For  the  beliefs  about  the  Anti-Christ,  see  S. 
Baring-Gould,  Curious  Myths  of  the  Middle  Ages.  Boston, 
1889.] 

Earthquakes  and  widespread  famine,  it  seems,  brought  the 
Messianic  excitement  in  Rome  to  a  culmination  in  A.  i>.  52. 
Claudius  expelled  from  Rome  the  Jews  who,  to  quote  Sue- 
tonius, "  under  the  impulse  of  Christianity  were  keeping  up 
a  constant  disturbance."  As  Huidekofer  observes,  the 
heathen  could  have  had  no  motive  for  exculpating  Jews  at 
the  expense  of  Christians.  "  Hence  the  allegation  that 
Christianity  was  to  blame  for  the  disturbance  must  have 
originated  with  conservative  Jews."  The  fearful  earth- 
quakes which  shook  Southern  Italy  again  in  A.  D.  63,  through 
the  universal  apprehension  which  they  aroused,  stimulated 
Messianic  expectations  among  Jews  and  Christians.  To 
supplement  this,  in  June,  64,  the  city  of  Rome  was  nearly 
destroyed  by  a  fire,  only  four  of  the  fourteen  sections  of  the 
city  remaining  untouched,  the  other  ten  being  wholly  or  in 


40  Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

part  destroyed.  "  Here  was  an  event  —  Rome's  destruc- 
tion —  which  for  more  than  a  century  had  by  many  Jews 
been  deemed  the  precursor  of  their  Messiah's  coming.  Party 
strife  and  Sibylline  predictions  found  place  in  the  capital, 
whilst  in  Judea  the  autumn  cannot  have  passed  without 
premonitions  of  rebellion.  From  Josephus  we  know  that 
revolutionary  disturbances  were,  shortly  thereafter,  well 
under  way  in  Judea.  [See  Huidekofer,  Judaism  at  Rome, 
N.  Y.,  1887,  242ff ;  229-38 ;  133,  144-7,  154,  425,  501 ;  and 
the  same  author's  Indirect  Testimony  of  History,  33-5. 
For  the  use  by  Cicero  of  the  phrase,  "  A  King  from  the 
East,"  see  the  orator's  work  on  Divinations  and  his  De 
Nalura  Deorum.  Virgil's  Messianic  Eclogue,  edited  by 
Mayor,  Fowler  and  Conway,  London,  1907,  contains  a  dis- 
cussion of  the  question  of  the  messianic  concept  in  Virgil. 
On  the  relation  between  the  Dragon  and  the  Messiah,  see 
Hastings'  Dictionary  of  the  Apostolic  Church,  I,  313,  art. 
on  Dragon.  The  religious  stimulus  of  such  events  has  been 
discussed  by  the  author  in  the  article  on  Prodigies  and 
Portents  in  Hastings'  Ency.  of  Religion  and  Ethics,  Vol.  X.] 

"  Amongst  the  magicians  and  the  false  prophets  who,  to 
the  disturbance  of  the  people,  began,  in  rivalry,  with  the 
robbers,  to  play  a  more  dangerous  part,  and  whom  Felix 
endeavored  rigorously  to  put  down,  there  was  an  Egyptian 
Judean  who  especially  distinguished  himself  (shortly  after 
A.  D.  52).  He  sought  to  prove,  by  a  perverse  interpretation 
of  the  Bible,  that  the  walls  of  Jerusalem,  having  been  subject 
to  the  heathen,  must  fall  down  in  the  same  way  as  those  of 
Jericho,  under  Joshua,  had  once  done,  and  that  only  when 
that  had  been  accomplished  would  the  victory  over  the  world 
accrue  to  those  who  should  in  that  way  enter  the  city.  He 
had  already  collected  many  people  from  the  populace  on  the 
Mount  of  Olives,  in  his  advance  from  the  eastern  desert, 
when  Felix  fell  upon  him  with  a  large  body  of  horse  and 
cavalry,  killing  four  hundred  and  taking  two  hundred  pris- 
oners." [J.  H.  Allen,  op.  cit.,  413.  Ewald,  History  of 
Israel,  VII,  423.] 

About  a  decade  later,  the  Roman  governor,  Festus,  was 
compelled  to  send  cavalry  and  infantry  against  a  similar 


The  Messianic  Movement  in  Judaism  4?1 

false  Messiah,  who  had  promised  the  people  immediate  deliv- 
erance from  the  oppressive  Romans,  and  a  cessation  of  all 
sufferings,  if  they  would  follow  him  into  the  desert.  [Ib., 
426.  The  account  is  given  in  Josephus,  Ant.,  XX,  8,  10.] 

It  was  in  the  days  of  intense  excitement  and  concern,  when 
Cleopatra  was  scheming  to  effect  the  overthrow  of  Herod, 
that  a  Judean  author  foretold  the  coming  destruction  of  the 
Roman-Greek  state  and  heralded  the  coming  of  a  glorious 
Messiah,  [Graetz,  Hist  of  Jews,  II,  95.  See  also  143ff., 
240ff.,  290ff.,  409ff.,  610;  IV,  18,  494ff.;  in  II,  610ff.;  of 
Messiahs  in  the  early  sixteenth  century,  in  IV,  482ff. ;  of 
Charles  V  (sixteenth  century)  in  IV,  497.]  In  a  word, 
"  To  trace  the  rise  of  the  Jewish  revolt  is  hardly  anything 
less  than  to  trace  the  growth  of  the  messianic  propaganda." 
[See  Shaler  Matthews,  Messianic  Hope  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment, 15  ;  cf.,  also,  C.  A.  Briggs,  The  Messiah  of  the  Apostles, 
New  York,  1895 ;  and  by  the  same  author,  The  Messiah  of 
the  Gospels.] 

The  periods  of  greatest  oppression  and  consequent  de- 
pression, from  180  B.  c.  to  100  A.  D.,  "  far  from  being  ages, 
of  spiritual  stagnation  and  darkness,  .  .  .  might  with  jus- 
tice be  described  as  the  two  most  fruitful  centuries  in  religion, 
life  and  thought  in  the  history  of  Israel."  [R.  H.  Charles, 
Religious  Development  between  the  Old  and  New  Testament, 
115.  See  also  his  Apocrypha.] 

The  messianic  conception  which  Josephus  witnessed  at 
work  was  eminently  national  and  anti-Roman.  In  the 
Asmonian  period  (cir.  130  B.  c.),  in  conformity  with  Jewish 
prophecy,  the  Messiah  was  to  establish  a  glorious  territorial 
kingdom.  The  apocalyptic  messiah  of  this  age  was  to  origi- 
nate a  heaven,  descend  to  earth,  establish  future  judgment, 
and,  as  was  held  after  the  capture  of  Jerusalem,  avenge  the 
Jews  upon  their  enemies.  The  motive  for  national  venge- 
ance died  hard.  In  A.  B.  132,  a  Messiah  by  name  of  Bar 
Kokebas  came  forward  and  raised  a  revolt  against  the  Ro- 
mans which  lasted  three  years  and  a  half,  finally  resulting,  to 
the  great  injury  of  the  Jewish  cause,  in  the  Hebrew  temple 
being  replaced  by  one  dedicated  to  Jupiter.  [Lagrange, 
Le  Messianism  (Paris,  1909),  esp.  pp.  6,  132,  309.  Also 


4$  Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

J.  A.  Greenstone,  op.  cit.,  89.  See  Virgil's  Messianic  Ec- 
logue, edited  by  J.  B.  Mayor,  W.  W.  Fowler,  and  R.  S. 
Conway  (London,  1907).  Josephus,  Hastings'  E.R.E., 
VII,  776,  sec.  3—4.]  This  illustrates  the  pragmatic  value  of 
messianic  ideals  and  is  probably  what  Briggs  had  in  mind 
when  he  referred  to  the  Old  Testament  Messianic  prophecies 
as  an  "  organism  of  redemption,"  an  ideal  to  guide  the  Jew- 
ish people  in  "  their  advance  toward  the  goal  of  history." 
[C.  A.  Briggs,  Messianic  Prophecy.  New  York,  1891.  An 
older  and  less  valuable  treatise  will  be  found  in  the  book  of 
James  Drummond,  The  Jewish  Messiah:  A  Critical  History 
of  the  Messianic  Idea  among  the  Jews  from  the  Rise  of  the 
Maccabees  to  the  Closing  of  the  Talmud.  London,  1877. 
See  also  Shailer  Mathews,  Messianic  Hope  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment (Univ.  of  Chicago  Press).] 

In  less  than  a  year  Bar  Kokebas  had  conquered  fifty  forti- 
fied cities  and  nine  hundred  and  forty-five  towns  and  villages. 
He  led  an  army  of  two  hundred  thousand  men.  For  two  and 
a  half  years  he  reigned  as  king.  Only  after  fifty-two  battles 
did  Julius  Severus,  in  135  A.  D.,  finally  vanquish  him.  There 
is  something  sublime  in  this  King  of  Zion  bidding  defiance 
to  the  armies  of  proud  imperial  Rome.  [N.  Schmidt,  op. 
cit.,  8S'-91;  Rev.  d.  Etudes  Juives,  I  (1880),  42.] 

This  Bar-Kokebas,  Son  of  a  Star,  whose  name  was  later 
turned  by  his  disappointed  followers  into  Bar-Cosba,  Son  of 
a  Lie,  though  not  the  first,  nor  yet  the  last,  of  a  long  line 
of  Messiahs,  is  one  of  the  most  dramatic  figures.  It  was  an 
opinion  deeply  rooted  in  the  breasts  of  all  faithful  Israelites, 
that  in  the  darkest  hour  of  the  race  of  Abraham,  when  his 
children  were  at  the  extreme  point  of  degradation  and 
wretchedness,  even  then  the  arm  of  the  Lord  would  be  re- 
vealed, and  the  expected  Messiah  would  make  his  sudden  and 
glorious  appearance.  In  the  year  132  A.  D.,  after  the  death 
of  Trajan  and  the  ascension  of  Hadrian,  that  hour  seemed 
to  have  arrived.  Not  only  was  their  holy  Jerusalem  a  mass 
of  ruins  and  inhabited  by  the  stranger,  but  the  pagans  were 
about  to  take  up  permanent  residence  in  Sion,  and  place  a 
Roman  idol  on  the  very  site  of  the  Holy  of  Holies.  At  that 
moment  the  Messiah  appeared  in  the  person  of  Bar-Kokebas ; 


The  Messianic  Movement  m  Judaism  43 

the  greatest  of  the  Rabbis  openly  avowed  the  justice  of  his 
claims ;  many  miraculous  feats  were  attributed  to  him,  and 
thousands  of  Jews  flocked  to  his  banner.  [H.  H.  Milman, 
Hist,  of  the  Jews,  II,  432-8'.  Emil  Schurer,  Hist,  of  the 
Jewish  People  in  the  Time  of  Christ.  First  Division,  II.  297ff. 
New  York.  No  date.  S.  Hecht,  Epitome  of  Post-Biblical 
History,  33-5  (1882).  R.  A.  S.  Macalister,  Hist,  of  Civili- 
zation in  Palestine,  101.  Merivale,  Hist,  of  the  Romans, 
VII,  316-7.  New  York,  1896.  J.  H.  Allen,  op.  cit.,  423. 
Gibbon's  Roman  Empire,  I,  58*9.] 

Schindler  has  referred  to  Bar  Kokebas  as  the  only  man 
who  has  earned  the  title  of  Messiah,  if  it  has  been  earned  by 
any  one,  embodying  all  the  qualities  expected  of  the  Mes- 
siah. "  He  was  of  powerful,  herculean  build ;  tall,  muscu- 
lar, strong.  He  was  the  model  of  a  soldier.  He  would  sleep 
on  the  bare  ground,  and  share  the  coarse  food  of  his  soldiers. 
In  battle  he  would  be  seen  at  the  most  dangerous  points, 
whirling  his  battle-axe  with  undaunted  courage.  He  was  a 
skilful  leader,  who  outgeneralled  the  most  experienced  sol- 
diers of  Rome.  Deep  as  was  his  hatred  of  Rome  was  his 
love  for  his  country.  He  was  modest  and  willing  to  listen ; 
and  for  all  this  his  followers  worshipped  him.  How  he  had 
passed  his  youth,  where  he  had  obtained  his  military  knowl- 
edge, nobody  knew.  There  he  was  at  the  time  when  all  was 
prepared,  and  people  were  only  waiting  for  the  leader;  and 
the  impression  which  he  must  have  made  upon  the  people  was 
such  that,  without  examining  his  past  record,  all,  the  rich 
and  the  poor,  the  learned  and  the  simple,  flocked  to  his  ban- 
ner, and  obeyed  implicitly  his  commands.  Within  the  space 
of  a  year  he  stormed  fifty  fortified  places,  and  freed  nine 
hundred  and  eighty-five  towns  held  by  the  Romans ;  and  when 
the  year  133  dawned,  not  a  single  Roman  was  to  be  seen  in 
Palestine."  [Messianic  Expectations,  69—73.  Mommsen, 
Provinces  of  the  Roman  Empire,  II,  244.  New  York,  1887.] 

Later  belief  that  the  messianic  period  would  be  preceded 
by  many  misfortunes  and  perplexities  for  Israel  [Greenstone, 
111-12]  may  well  have  been  an  inference  based  on  the  con- 
ditions that  had,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  prevailed  prior  to  its 
manifestations.  A  few  examples  will  illustrate  this: 


44  Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

In  the  fifth  century,  an  enthusiast,  one  Moses,  arose  in 
the  island  of  Crete,  declaring  himself  the  Messiah  and  attract- 
ing all  the  Jewish  congregations  on  the  island.  "  Business 
was  neglected,  all  the  common  pursuits  of  life  were  forsaken, 
in  the  anxious  expectation  of  the  time  when  the  new  Moses 
should  lead  them  dryshod  through  the  sea  into  the  Promised 
Land.  So  convinced  were  the  people  of  his  mission  and  of 
his  powers,  that  they  delivered  all  their  belongings  to  him, 
and  men,  women,  and  children  followed  him  to  the  sea. 
Standing  on  a  promontory  projecting  into  the  sea,  he  or- 
dered them  to  throw  themselves  into  the  ocean,  as  the  waters 
would  surely  part  for  them.  .  .  .  Many  were  drowned,  some 
were  rescued  by  sailors."  "  Thus  the  Jews,  whom  the  mag- 
nanimous offer  of  a  Roman  emperor  left  incredulous,  were 
deluded  by  the  fancies  of  an  enthusiast,  or  by  the  snares  of 
an  impostor,  merely  because  he  promised  them  miracles." 
[Greenstone,  op.  cit.,  109-11;  G.  F.  Abbott,  Israel  in  Eu- 
rope. 48-9;  H.  H.  Milman,  III,  40,  96ff.,  366.]  His  suc- 
cess is  no  doubt  partly  due  to  the  fact  that  in  the  beginning 
of  the  fifth  century  hopes  of  a  millennium  were  spreading 
and  the  long-awaited  deliverer  was  expected.  This  expecta- 
tion was  heightened  by  the  prediction  of  an  ancient  Sibylline 
oracle  placing  the  advent  of  the  Messiah  in  the  eighty-fifth 
jubilee,  between  A.  D.  440  and  470.  "  In  proportion  as  per- 
secution became  stronger,  these  hopes  grew  more  vigorous." 
[Judaism,  Hastings'  E.R.E.,  VII,  598.  The  Chronicles  of 
Jerahmeel,  probably  written  in  the  first  century  B.  c.,  con- 
tain similar  speculations.  There  was  a  tradition  among 
the  Jews  that  before  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  in  586 
B.  c.  the  Tabernacle  with  all  its  sacred  furniture  was  hidden 
by  Jeremiah,  or,  according  to  the  Talmud,  by  Josiah,  in  a 
cave  in  Mt.  Nebo,  whence  it  was  to  be  miraculously  restored 
to  its  place  at  the  coming  of  the  Messiah.  2  Es.,  X,  22; 
Ark,  Diet,  of  Apost.  Ch.,  I,  92.  In  this  connection  we  may 
warn  readers  of  Josephus  to  bear  in  mind  that  he  tried  to 
suppress  the  messianic  expectations  of  the  Jews,  or  at  least 
to  purge  them  of  all  political  import.  He  tries  generally  to 
divest  Jewish  sects  of  all  political  significance,  and  anxiously 
avoids  all  reference  to  the  stirring  messianic  expectations 


The  Messianic  Movement  in  Judaism  45 

then  current  among  the  Jews.  See  Josephus,  Diet,  of  Apost. 
Ch.,  I,  651-2.] 

Dunaan,  who  appeared  in  Nigra,  a  city  of  Arabia  Felix, 
in  4*34*,  was  a  similar  character  in  similar  conditions.  Simi- 
lar, too,  is  the  story  of  the  Syrian  reformer,  Serene,  who 
appeared  about  720.  The  Jews  of  that  period  were  suffer- 
ing heavily  at  the  hands  of  the  fanatical  Caliph  Omar  II. 
"  When,  therefore,  the  Messiah  arose,  promising  to  restore 
them  to  independence  and  to  exterminate  their  enemies,  many 
Eastern  Jews  lent  an  attentive  ear  to  his  gospel.  The  Re- 
deemer's fame  reached  Spain,  and  the  Jews  of  that  country 
also,  still  smarting  under  the  sufferings  of  centuries  and 
probably  disappointed  in  the  extravagant  hopes  which  they 
had  built  upon  the  Arab  conquest,  hastened  to  enlist  under 
his  banner."  Serene,  however,  after  being  intercepted  by  the 
successes  of  Caliph  Omar  II,  was  delivered  over  to  the  Syna- 
gogue and,  with  his  disgrace,  disappeared  that  particular 
messianic  dream. 

Not  long,  however,  was  the  dream  absent.  In  less  than  a 
generation  another  reformer  of  messianic  type  appeared  in 
the  Persian  town  of  Ispahan,  rekindled  the  enthusiasm  and 
revived  the  messianic  faith.  This  reformer,  who  professed 
to  be  merely  a  forerunner,  by  name,  Obaiah  Abu  Isa  ben 
Ishak,  promised  to  free  the  children  of  Israel  from  their 
thraldom.  Nor  did  he  exhort  in  vain.  Ten  thousand  Jews 
rallied  around  his  standard  and  the  war  for  independence 
begun  at  Ispahan  seemed  for  awhile  to  promise  success. 
His  memory  was  alive  up  until  the  tenth  century  but  none 
succeeded  him  who  was  able  to  revive  the  movement  toward 
liberation.  [G.  F.  Abbott,  Israel  in  Europe,  60-1 ;  Silvestre 
de  Sacy,  Ckrestomathie  Arabie,  I,  307.  Paris,  1826.] 

The  Book  of  the  Bee,  written  by  the  bishop  Shelemon,  or 
Solomon,  a  native  of  Armenia,  in  the  thirteenth  century, 
gives  the  messianic  generations  and  shows  the  importance  at- 
tached to  them  at  that  time.  [See  the  translation  by  E.  A. 
Wallis  Budge,  published  in  Anecdota  Oxoniensia,  Semitic 
Series,  I,  1886.]  So  frequent  were  the  messianic  disturb- 
ances of  the  Middle  Ages  that  it  became  necessary  for  the 
Jewish  congregations  to  place  all  questions  bearing  upon 


46  Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

Messianic  topics  or  movements  before  the  Nagid  of  Egypt. 
[Jewish  Quart.  Rev.,  IV,  505 ;  X,  140.] 

As  early  as  the  middle  of  the  tenth  century,  Hasdai,  the 
Jewish  statesman  of  the  Cordova  Caliphate  in  Spain,  wrote 
to  the  Jewish  community  settled  near  the  mouth  of  the  Volga 
river  to  find  out  "  whether  there  is  anywhere  a  soil  and 
kingdom  where  scattered  Israel  is  not  subordinate  and  sub- 
ject to  others.  Having  been  cast  down  from  our  former 
glory,  and  now  living  in  exile,  we  are  powerless  to  answer 
those  who  constantly  say  unto  us :  '  Every  nation  hath  its 
kingdom,  while  you  have  no  trace  of  a  kingdom  on  earth.' ' 
In  reply  the  king  of  the  Khazars  writes,  in  part :  "  Our 
eyes  are  turned  to  God  and  to  the  wise  men  of  Israel  who 
preside  over  the  academies  of  Jerusalem  and  Babylon.  We 
are  far  away  from  Zion,  but  it  has  come  to  our  ears  that,  on 
account  of  our  sins,  the  calculations  concerning  the  coming 
of  the  Messiah  have  become  confused,  so  that  we  know  noth- 
ing. May  it  please  the  Lord  to  act  for  the  sake  of  his  great 
Name.  May  the  destruction  of  his  temple,  and  the  cutting 
off  of  the  holy  service,  and  the  misfortunes  that  have  be- 
fallen us,  not  appear  small  in  His  sight.  May  the  words 
of  the  prophet  be  fulfilled :  '  And  the  Lord,  whom  ye  seek, 
shall  suddenly  come  to  his  temple'  (Mai.  iii,  1).  We  have 
nothing  in  our  possession  concerning  the  coming  of  the  Mes- 
siah except  the  prophecy  of  Daniel.  May  the  God  of  Israel 
hasten  our  redemption  and  gather  together  all  our  exiled 
and  scattered  brethren  in  my  lifetime,  in  thy  lifetime,  and  in 
the  lifetime  of  the  whole  house  of  Israel,  who  love  his  name." 
[Dubnow,  I,  26-27.  The  author,  however,  points  out  that 
the  authenticity  of  the  document  is  not  above  suspicion. 
He  thinks  it  may  more  probably  reflect  the  mournful  Messi- 
anic temper  of  the  sixteenth  century,  when  this  correspond- 
ence was  brought  to  light  by  Spanish  exiles  who  had  made 
their  way  to  Constantinople,  rather  than  the  state  of  mind 
of  a  Spanish  dignitary  or  a  Khazar  king  of  the  tenth  cen- 
tury. In  that  case  it  must  be  accounted  part  of  the  Sab- 
bataian  movement  described  below.] 

A  powerful  messianic  movement  was  initiated  in  1096,  in 
the  midst  of  the  Crusades,  by  the  German  Jews  who  had  long 


The  Messianic  Movement  in  Judaism  47 

looked  forward  to  this  year  as  a  year  of  deliverance.  Many 
thousands  of  them  started  for  the  Holy  Land  by  way  of  the 
Byzantine  Empire.  The  belief  was  rife  that  the  ten  tribes, 
from  behind  their  dark  mountains,  were  astir,  and  wished  to 
unite  with  their  distant  brethren  in  the  West,  from  whom 
they  had  long  been  separated.  These  dark  mountains  were, 
the  German  Jews  declared,  before  their  eyes,  brightened  with 
a  great  brilliancy.  So  widespread  was  the  movement  that  the 
Jews  of  France  dispatched  a  special  messenger  to  Constanti- 
nople to  obtain  reliable  information  about  the  success  of  the 
movement  for  deliverance,  and  to  ascertain  whether  the  time 
of  freedom  had,  in  very  truth,  arrived.  It  was  reported  also 
that  from  the  Byzantine  Empire  seventeen  congregations  had 
started,  undeterred  by  the  necessity  of  wandering  through 
the  desert.  [David  Kaufmann,  A  Hitherto  Unknown  Mes- 
sianic Movement,  Jewish  Quart.  Rev.,  10  (1897-8),  139-51.] 

A  Messiah  appeared  in  France  about  1087,  another  at 
Cordova  in  1117,  one  in  Fez  in  1127,  all  of  these  movements 
being  traceable  to  the  oppression  felt  by  the  Jews  as  a  result 
of  the  Crusades. 

In  Yemen  (Persia)  in  1172,  just  when  the  Mohammedans 
were  making  most  ardent  efforts  to  convert  the  Jews,  ap- 
peared a  self-proclaimed  forerunner  of  the  Messiah,  who 
declared  that  the  misfortunes  of  the  day  betokened  the  ap- 
proach of  the  Messianic  kingdom. 

Similar  tendencies  to  rebound  from  under  the  severest 
calamities  characterized  this  whole  period  when  the  Jews 
were  suffering  manifold  ills  from  the  direct  and  indirect 
effects  of  the  first  and  second  Crusades.  The  Jewish  trav- 
eler, Benjamin  of  Tudela,  who  visited  his  co-religionists  in 
the  cities  along  the  Rhine,  twenty  years  after  the  second 
Crusade,  found  them  cheerfully  awaiting  the  Messiah.  Here, 
as  elsewhere,  the  wish  seemed  to  yield  its  own  fulfilment  and 
the  expectation  when  at  a  high  pitch  was  seldom  in  vain. 

Came  to  the  fore  at  this  time,  about  the  middle  of  the 
twelfth  century  (1160)  one  David  Alroy,  who  appeared  in 
Asia  Minor  and  there  summoned  the  brethren  to  his  banner. 
A  wave  of  enthusiasm  spread  from  Bagdad  through  both  East 
and  West,  many  giving  up  all  they  possessed  in  order  to 


48  Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

respond  to  the  call,  f  hte  Synagogue,  however,  excommuni- 
cated the  Messiah,  and  either  his  father-in-law,  or  the  execu- 
tioner of  the  Sultan  himself,  soon  dispatched  him.  Here 
again,  as  in  the  case  of  Sabbatai  and  of  Molcho  1  death  did 
not  extinguish  the  hopes  and  beliefs  of  many  of  the  Jewish 
followers  for  his  return  was  confidently  expected.  [G.  F. 
Abbott,  Israel  in  Europe,  89-90,  171 ;  Rev.  d.  Etudes  Juives, 
IV,  188--91;  XVII,  304;  A.  Neubauer,  Mediaeval  Jewish 
Chronicles,  123.  The  followers  of  David  Alroy  formed  a 
sect  known  as  Menakemists  (q.v.  Jewish  Ency.,  I,  454ff.).] 

In  1279  or  1280  Abraham  Abulafia  published  a  book  in 
which  he  claimed  to  be  God's  mouth-piece.  Later,  in  1284, 
in  Messina,  Sicily,  he  declared  his  Messiahship  and  an- 
nounced that  the  Messianic  era  would  begin  in  1290.  Perse- 
cuted in  Sicily,  he  went  to  the  island  of  Comino,  near  Malta, 
about  1288,  and  there  pushed  his  claims;  with  what  success 
is  not  known.  One  of  the  two  prophets  who  arose  from 
among  his  disciples,  claiming  to  be  prophets  and  miracle- 
workers,  foretold  in  mystic  language  at  Ayllon,  in  Segovia, 
the  advent  of  the  Messiah. 

About  this  time  flourished  also  in  Avila,  Nissim  ben  Abra- 
ham, who  was  inspired  by  an  angel  to  write  a  mystic  work, 
"  The  Wonder  of  Wisdom."  He  designated  the  last  day  of 
the  fourth  month  of  the  year  1295,  as  the  date  of  the  Mes- 
siah's appearance.  The  credulous  fasted  and  practised 
almsgiving  and  assembled  on  the  appointed  day;  but  only 
to  find  —  by  what  strange  chance  may  only  be  surmised  — 
that  to  their  garments  were  attached  little  crosses. 

A  Lombard  enthusiast,  Wilhelmina  "  of  Bohemia,"  claimed 
to  be  an  incarnation  of  the  Spirit  appointed  to  save  the 
Jews,  Saracens,  and  false  Christians.  The  sect  died  out 
soon  after  her  decease  in  1282. 

In  the  fourteenth  century  there  appeared,  in  Persia,  an- 
other Messiah,  Moses  Botarel  of  Cisneras. 

Any  menace  to  the  Papacy  was  accepted  by  the  Jews  as 
a  good  augury  and  a  presage  of  the  coming  of  the  Messiah, 
This  was  the  case  after  Charles  VIII  had  poured  his  forces, 

i  Reubeni,  David,  Jewish  Ency.  X,  388ff.,  and  Molcho,  Solomon,  Ib., 
VII,  604.    Judaism,  Hastings'  E.R.E.,  VII,  604. 


The  Messianic  Movement  in  Judaism  49 

like  a  torrent,  over  the  Italian  Peninsula,  with  consequent 
hard  fates  for  the  Jews  of  Spain  and  Portugal,  who  were  of 
the  belief  that  the  French  conquest  marked  the  end  of  the 
Papacy.  They  decided  upon  the  year  1490  as  the  year  of 
deliverance,  though  it  was  not  until  1502  or  1503  that  a 
Messiah,  in  the  person  of  Ascher  Lembein,  appeared.  Hard 
days  for  the  oppressors  meant  the  approach  of  salvation  for 
the  oppressed.  Ascher  preached  repentance  and  contrition, 
giving  assurance  that  the  Messiah  would  appear  in  six 
months.  Many  devoted  disciples  in  Italy  and  Germany  ral- 
lied to  his  support,  but  his  sudden  death  brought  the  dream 
to  an  abrupt  end,  only  to  be  revived  thirty  years  later  by  the 
much-tried  Marranos  of  Spain  and  Portugal. 

In  the  troublous  days  of  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth 
century,  "  there  arose  in  Istria,  near  Venice,  a  German  Jew, 
whose  name  was  Lembein,  a  foolish  and  mad  prophet,  an 
infatuated  man,  and  the  Jews  ran  after  him.  And  they  said, 
4  Surely  he  is  a  prophet,  whom  the  Lord  has  sent  as  a  prince 
over  his  people  Israel ;  and  he  shall  gather  the  dispersed  of 
Judah  from  the  four  corners  of  the  earth.'  And  some  of 
the  men  were  inclined  to  him  and  girded  themselves  with  sack- 
cloth; and  every  man  turned  from  his  evil  ways  in  those 
days ;  for  they  said,  *  Our  salvation  draweth  nigh ;  but  the 
Lord,  in  his  own  time,  will  make  haste.' ' 

Tribulations  similar  to  those  which  beset  Lembein,  and 
anticipations  of  a  still  worse  fate  for  the  entire  Jewish  com- 
munity, were  the  fertile  soil  which  produced  three  Messiahs 
in  the  latter  part  of  the  fourteenth  century  —  Abraham  of 
Granada,  Shem-Tob,  and  Moses  Botarel.  [G.  F.  Abbott, 
Israel  in  Europe,  200-1,  150,  279.  The  Chronicles  of  Rabbi 
Joseph  Ben  Joshua  Ben  Meir,  the  Sphardi,  I,  354.  London, 
1836.  Translated  by  C.  H.  F.  Bialloblotzky.] 

Isaac  Luria  (1534-72)  proclaimed  himself  as  possessing 
the  soul  of  the  Messiah,  and  announced  the  date  of  the  messi- 
anic age  as  1568.  After  his  death  Hayim  Vital  Calabres 
claimed  to  be  the  Messiah  and  preached  the  speedy  advent 
of  the  messianic  era. 

In  1574,  Abraham  Shalom,  himself  a  pretender  to  the  Mes- 
siahship,  advised  Vital  to  repair  to  Jerusalem  for  two  years ; 


50  Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

should  he  do  so  the  holy  spirit  would  come  upon  him.  In 
1615,  there  appeared  in  Coromandel  another  Messiah.  Even 
the  poet  Moses  Luzzate  (1707-47)  declared  his  messiahship, 
fancying  himself  destined  by  means  of  his  production,  the 
Second  Zohar,  to  redeem  Israel.  He  had  a  small  band  of 
followers  but  was  several  times  excommunicated.  [Lent,  De 
Pseudo-Messiis.  Art.  on  Messiah,  in  the  Jewish  Encyclo- 
pedia. Messiahs  (Pseudo)  in  Hastings'  Encyclopedia  of 
Religion  and  Ethics.  Messiah,  in  the  New  International 
Encyclopedia.] 

During  the  reign  of  the  Spanish  king,  Charles  V,  there 
appeared  in  the  court  of  the  king  of  Portugal  a  man  by  the 
name  of  David,  announcing  that  he  had  come  from  India  on 
a  mission  from  his  brother,  the  King  of  the  Jews,  to  propose 
an  alliance  directed  toward  the  recovery  of  the  Holy  Land 
from  the  Turk.  In  Portugal,  Spain,  France,  and  Italy  he 
traveled  on  his  mission,  winning  many  converts,  and  even 
securing  an  interview  with  the  Pope.  Some  of  the  more 
worldly-wise  detected  the  imposture  and  David  fell  upon  hard 
days.  In  the  naive  and  quaint  Chronicles  of  the  Rabbi 
Joseph,  we  find  a  lengthy  description : 

"  A  Jew-man  whose  name  was  David,  came  from  a  distant 
country  of  India  into  the  court  of  the  king  of  Portugal  in 
those  days  and  said  unto  him :  '  I  am  a  Hebrew,  and  I  fear 
the  Lord,  the  God  of  Heaven,  and  my  brother  the  king  of  the 
Jews  sent  me  unto  thee,  O  king,  for  help;  and  now,  be  a 
helper  unto  us  and  we  will  go  to  war  against  the  Turk, 
Solyman,  and  will  take  the  Holy  Land  from  his  hands.' 
And  the  king  said  unto  him,  '  Be  thy  coming  with  peace ; 
and  now  go,  I  will  send  thee  unto  the  high  priest ;  and  what- 
soever he  shall  say,  I  will  do.'  And  he  went  out  from  him, 
and  abode  on  Lisbon  several  days.  And  the  forced  Chris- 
tians [Literally,  the  compelled  ones;  Jews  who  had  been 
driven  by  the  Inquisition  into  outward  compliance  with  ec- 
clesiastical rites.]  believed  his  words.  And  each  said  unto 
his  neighbor,  '  He  is  our  deliverer,  for  God  hath  sent  him ; 
and  they  gathered  themselves  unto  him  and  honoured  him 
much.  And  the  man  departed  thence,  and  passed  through 
Spain ;  and  in  all  the  places  through  which  he  passed,  many 


The  Messianic  Movement  in  Judaism  51 

flowed  unto  him  of  those  who  were  scattered  there;  and  he 
was  unto  them  a  stumbling  block.  And  he  passed  over  to 
France  and  went  unto  Avignon.  And  he  departed  thence, 
and  came  unto  Italy ;  and  he  made  banners  of  cunning  work, 
and  wrote  upon  them  the  names  of  the  Holy ;  and  many  be- 
lieved him  in  those  days.  And  also  unto  Bologna,  Ferrara, 
and  Mantua,  came  that  man;  and  he  said  that  he  would, 
with  the  consent  of  the  kings  of  the  uncircumcised,  lead  all 
the  Jews  who  were  found  in  the  midst  of  them  unto  his  place 
and  into  his  land.  And  he  spake  also  unto  the  pope ;  and  the 
children  of  Israel  feared  much.  And  it  came  to  pass,  when 
they  spake  unto  him,  saying,  '  And  what  shall  we  do  with 
our  wives  this  day,  if  we  shall  all  go  into  the  battle,  and  what 
unto  their  children  which  they  have  borne  ?  '  That  he  re- 
plied, '  Surely  there  are  many  women  in  our  country,  like 
unto  these  women :  fear  not,  for  there  is  no  restraint  with  the 
Lord  to  save.'  And  he  invented  a  writing  of  his  own  heart 
saying,  '  My  brother,  the  king,  hath  sent  unto  me  written 
and  sealed  with  the  king's  ring;  and  it  came  to  pass,  one 
day,  that  his  secret  was  discovered,  and  they  believed  him  no 
more;  for  he  decreed  decrees  of  nothingness."  [Translated 
by  Bialloblotzky,  London,  1836,  II,  149-50.  See  also,  G.  F. 
Abbott,  Israel  in  Europe^  169—70.] 

Succeeded  David,  one  Solomon  Molcho,  at  first  a  Christian 
and  an  ignorant  man.  Upon  his  circumcision  the  Lord  in- 
vested him  with  profound  knowledge,  out  of  which  he  was 
enabled  to  master  the  Cabala  and  speak  with  inspiring  elo- 
quence. To  kings  he  preached  the  Jewish  faith,  and  with 
the  Pope,  Clement  VII,  he  had  audience  and  secured  permis- 
sion to  dwell  where  he  would. 

"  And  there  came  forth  a  rod  from  Portugal,  whose  name 
was  Solomon  Molcho,  of  a  stem  of  Israel,  which  had  been 
scattered  there  since  the  days  of  destruction;  and  he  was  a 
lad  with  the  scribes  of  the  king  at  that  time.  And  when 
he  saw  the  man  David,  the  Lord  touched  his  heart,  and  he 
returned  unto  the  Lord,  the  God  of  his  ancestors;  and  he 
circumcised  the  skin  of  his  foreskin.  And  he  knew  nothing 
of  the  law  of  the  Lord,  and  of  the  Holy  Scriptures  in  those 
days;  and  it  came  to  pass,  when  he  was  circumcised,  that 


52  Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

the  Lord  gave  wisdom  unto  Solomon,  and  he  became  wiser 
than  all  the  men  in  a  very  short  time;  and  many  wondered 
at  him ;  and  he  went  to  Italy,  and  with  a  daring  face  he  spake 
of  the  law  of  our  God  in  the  presence  of  kings,  and  hid  not 
his  face  from  them.  And  he  went  into  Turkey  and  returned 
into  Rome,  and  spake  with  Clement,  who  extended  towards 
him  kindness  against  the  desire  of  all  those  who  knew  law 
and  judgment.  And  he  gave  him  a  written  privilege  signed 
with  his  name  to  dwell  as  it  should  be  pleasing  in  his  sight, 
and  he  surnamed  himself  by  the  name  of  Israel;  and  he  was 
wise  in  the  wisdom  of  the  Cabala ;  and  he  brought  forth  from 
his  mouth  words  of  grace,  for  the  spirit  of  the  Lord  spake  in 
him ;  and  His  word  was  constantly  upon  his  tongue.  And  he 
continually  drew  also  from  the  deep  fountain  of  the  Cabala 
goodly  words  ;  and  he  wrote  them  upon  tables  ;  but  I  have  not 
yet  seen  them.  And  he  preached  to  many  at  Bologna  and 
in  other  places ;  and  many  ran  after  him  to  hear  his  wisdom, 
and  to  prove  him  with  riddles.  And  Solomon  told  them  all 
their  words :  there  was  nothing  hid  from  him  which  he  told 
them  not;  and  when  they  saw  the  wisdom  of  Solomon,  they 
said,  '  It  was  a  true  report  which  we  heard  concerning  thee, 
and  thou  hast  gained  wisdom  exceeding  the  fame  which  we 
heard.'  And  many  clothed  themselves  with  envy  against 
him;  but  they  could  cast  no  evil  upon  him  in  Italy,  for  he 
was  beloved  in  the  sight  of  the  nobles :  and  he  united  himself 
with  David,  and  they  were  as  one  in  those  days. 

"  And  Solomon  wrote  unto  the  wise  men,  words  of  peace 
and  truth,  saying:  — 

"  '  Incline  your  ear  to  hear  the  words  of  a  worm  and  no 
man,  a  rod  out  of  the  stem  of  the  children  of  our  captivity, 
which  came  forth  from  a  land  of  our  adversaries,  sitting  in 
a  forest  and  in  a  desert,  in  a  place  of  thorns,  thistles  and 
briers ;  there  he  fed,  and  there  he  lay  down ;  for  his  father 
and  his  mother  forsook  him;  he  walked  in  darkness  and  had 
no  light,  meditating  in  the  night  upon  his  couch  by  what  way 
the  light  is  parted,  that  he  might  know  the  place  of  the  dawn, 
to  keep  himself  from  the  ways  of  the  violent,  that  he  might 
walk  in  the  paths  of  God  to  seek  wisdom  of  him,  and  to  hear 
the  words  of  truth.  And  He  put  in  his  heart  anxiety  and 


The  Messianic  Movement  in  Judaism  53 

trouble  at  all  times,  to  save  his  soul  from  destruction,  to 
shine  in  the  light  of  life,  that  he  might  hold  fast  unto  the 
right  hand  of  God,  and  cast  from  him  the  left.'  " 

In  an  ecstatic  vision  he  was  shown  an  earthquake  and  a 
deluge  that  were  to  come :  "  The  deluge  will  be  in  this  coun- 
try and  in  another  country,  on  the  north  side,  on  the  utter- 
most part  of  the  earth;  and  the  earthquake  in  the  land  of 
thy  kindred.  .  .  .  And  in  those  days  the  earthquake  will  be 
in  the  kingdom  of  Portugal ;  and  when  the  deluge  shall  be 
at  Rome,  it  shall  also  be  in  the  north.  And  the  lightnings 
which  came  down  from  heaven,  which  separated  you  from 
the  birds,  shew,  that  after  the  flood,  two  great  stars  shall  be 
seen,  one  upon  the  citadel  on  which  were  the  fowls ;  and  the 
second  upon  the  great  place  which  is  situated  high  on  the 
clefts  of  the  rock.  And  each  star  shall  have  a  great  tail  of 
purple  color  and  they  shall  be  in  the  sight  of  the  inhabitants 
of  Rome  for  many  days,  and  they  shall  all  prophesy  con- 
cerning them.  And  the  star  which  shall  be  seen  over  the 
place  will  show,  that  there  shall  abide  a  great  weeping  over 
the  place,  and  over  all  the  cities,  which  are  on  the  west  of 
Turkey,  for  they  shall  be  in  the  inheritance  of  their  enemies. 
And  the  second  star  showeth  that  this  shall  not  be  forever; 
but  that  Israel  shall  do  valiantly,  that  singing  may  be  in 
the  morning.  .  .  .  And  on  the  self-same  day  shall  rest  upon 
the  king  Messiah  a  holy  spirit,  a  spirit  of  wisdom  and  under- 
standing, to  make  him  rule  over  a  great  people,  and  to  be 
at  eventide  a  light  to  shine  through  the  night.  After  this 
shall  awake  from  the  dust  the  dead  of  the  world  and  he  will 
renew  them  by  a  perfect  resurrection.  No  Satan  and  no 
evil  spirit  shall  then  be,  and  the  Lord  will  give  rest  to  his 
people ! '  And  it  came  to  pass  that  when  the  old  man  left 
off  speaking  according  to  these  words,  that  Solomon  awoke 
and  stretched  out  his  hands  toward  heaven,  and  said,  '  Lord 
God  of  Israel,  I  acknowledge  before  Thee  that  Thou  hast 
dealt  kindly  with  me  this  day,  for  the  sake  of  thy  great 
mercies,  and  not  according  to  my  righteousness  and  for  the 
sake  of  thy  loving-kindness,  and  not  for  my  innocency;  for 
what  am  I,  that  I  should  be  taught  a  high  matter  over  which 
there  is  a  watcher ;  if  it  was  not  by  thy  good  and  great  hand, 


54  Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

to  show  the  good  unto  criminals  which  thou  hast  shown  me 
this  day,  not  according  to  the  work  of  my  hand  but  accord- 
ing to  thy  righteousness,  O  living  God,  that  I  have  seen  what 
I  have  seen,  and  my  soul  is  preserved;  blessed  be  the  Lord 
who  sheweth  goodness  unto  debtors ! '  .  .  . 

"  And  after  I  was  healed,  I  went  to  Rome,  to  observe  the 
stars  and  their  appearance ;  and  before  they  came,  I  told  it 
all  unto  the  pope,  and  to  some  of  the  cardinals  belonging  to 
the  great  of  the  court,  written  in  a  letter.  And  I  also  wrote 
unto  the  king  of  Portugal  by  the  hand  of  his  ambassador, 
for  I  spake  to  him  in  his  chamber.  And  when  the  earth- 
quake came,  they  marvelled  much.  And  the  ambassadors 
said  unto  me,  '  If  the  king  had  known  before  thou  removedst 
from  Portugal,  that  thou  art  so  very  wise,  he  had  given  thee 
permission  to  act  by  every  law  thou  wouldst.'  And  daily 
he  and  his  servants  honored  me  much  at  his  house  and  before 
the  pope."  [Chronicles  of  Rabbi  Joseph,  II.] 

The  wonderful  vision  of  Molcho,  this  would-be  Jewish 
Messiah  who  lived  in  the  first  half  of  the  sixteenth  century, 
to  the  effect  that  Portugal  would  be  visited  by  an  earthquake 
and  that  Rome  and  a  northern  country  would  be  swept  by  a 
destructive  flood,  after  which  there  would  appear  in  Rome, 
for  a  few  days,  two  comets  with  golden  tails,  had  its  major 
fulfilment.  Rome  was  inundated  in  October,  1530,  as  also 
was  Flanders ;  a  brilliant  comet  appeared ;  the  earthquake 
shook  Lisbon  in  January,  1536,  with  terrible  effect.  As  a 
result  of  this  fulfilment  of  prophecies,  when  Molcho  again 
appeared  in  Rome,  he  was  greeted  with  marks  of  highest  con- 
fidence and  reverence,  and  was  regarded  by  all  as  the  mes- 
senger of  God.  The  Inquisition,  however,  was  not  so  favor- 
ably inclined  and  soon  dispatched  him.  [Greenstone,  Mes- 
siah Idea,  197ff.,  118-122.  Lagrange,  Le  Messianisme, 
329ff.  S.  Schechter,  Studies  in  Judaism,  224—5.  Morris 
Joseph,  Judaism  as  Creed  and  Life,  169.  H.  H.  Milman, 
Hist,  of  the  Jews,  III,  367-8.  G.  F.  Abbott,  op.  cit.,  17O-1.] 

The  spirit  of  martyrs  is  not  consumed  in  the  flames  of 
their  martyrdom.  The  burning  of  Molcho  1  was  but  as  a 

i  Schindler,    Messianic   Expectations,    Chapter    VII,    describes    David 
Rubeni  and  Solomon  Molcho. 


The  Messianic  Movement  in  Judaism  55 

burnt  offering  unto  the  Lord.  "  And  the  Lord  smelled  the 
sweet  savour,  and  took  to  him  his  spotless  soul,  and  she  is 
with  him  as  one  brought  up  with  him,  rejoicing  always  before 
him.  .  .  .  And  many  in  Italy  believed,  at  that  time,  that 
Rabbi  Solomon  Molcho  had  been  delivered  by  his  wisdom 
from  the  hand  of  those  who  sought  after  his  soul  to  destroy 
it,  and  that  the  fire  had  no  power  over  him.  And  there  were 
some  witnessed,  and  sware  before  the  assembly  and  congre- 
gation, that  he  stood  in  his  house  eight  days  after  the  burn- 
ing, and  that  he  went  his  way  thence  and  they  saw  him  no 
more ;  the  Almighty  God  alone  knoweth.  And  would  to 
God,"  writes  Rabbi  Joseph  Ben  Joshua  Ben  Meir,  the 
Sphardi,  "  would  to  God  I  could  write  in  a  book  with  cer- 
tainty and  sincerity  whether  his  words  were  true  or  not." 
[Said  the  author's  nephew  with  regard  to  these  Chronicles, 
written  shortly  after  the  events  which  they  describe,  "  Who- 
soever desireth  to  find  delight  in  the  times  past,  let  him  take 
up  this  Book  of  Memorials.  .  .  .  Peradventure  he  will  be  fa- 
vored to  discern  between  the  greatness  of  heathen  kings  and 
that  of  our  Messiah."  II,  525.] 

Canon  Moreau,  quoted  by  Baring-Gould,  gives  the  fol- 
lowing account  of  a  messianic  movement  in  the  closing  days 
of  the  sixteenth  century  and  the  early  part  of  the  seven- 
teenth: "  '  In  the  year  1599  a  rumor  circulated  with  pro- 
digious rapidity  through  Europe,  that  Antichrist  had  been 
born  in  Babylon,  and  that  already  the  Jews  of  that  part  were 
hurrying  to  receive  him  as  their  Messiah.  The  news  came 
from  Italy  and  Germany,  and  extended  to  Spain,  England, 
and  other  Western  kingdoms,  troubling  many  people,  even 
the  most  discreet ;  however,  the  learned  gave  it  no  credence, 
saying  that  the  signs  predicted  in  Scripture  to  precede  that 
event  were  not  yet  accomplished,  and,  among  others,  that 
the  Roman  empire  was  not  yet  abolished.  Others  said  that, 
as  for  the  signs,  the  majority  had  already  appeared  to  the 
best  of  their  knowledge,  and  with  regard  to  the  rest,  they 
might  have  taken  place  in  distant  regions  without  their  hav- 
ing been  made  known  to  them ;  that  the  Roman  empire  existed 
but  in  name,  and  that  the  interpretation  of  the  passage  on 
which  its  destruction  was  predicted,  might  be  incorrect ;  that 


56  Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

for  many  centuries,  the  most  learned  and  pious  had  believed 
in  the  near  approach  of  Antichrist,  some  believing  that  he 
had  already  come,  on  account  of  the  persecutions  which  had 
fallen  on  the  Christians;  others,  on  account  of  fires,  or 
eclipses,  or  earthquakes.  Every  one  was  in  excitement ;  some 
declared  that  the  news  must  be  correct,  others  believed  noth- 
ing about  it,  and  the  agitation  became  so  excessive,  that 
Henry  IV,  who  was  then  on  the  throne,  was  compelled  by 
edict  to  forbid  any  mention  of  the  subject.' 

"  The  report  spoken  of  by  Moreau  gained  additional  con- 
firmation from  the  announcement  made  by  an  exorcised 
demoniac,  that  in  1600,  the  Man  of  Sin  had  been  born  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Paris,  of  a  Jewess,  named  Blanchefleure, 
who  had  conceived  by  Satan.  The  child  had  been  baptised 
at  the  Sabbath  of  Sorcerers;  and  a  witch,  under  torture, 
acknowledged  that  she  had  rocked  the  infant  Antichrist  on 
her  knees,  and  she  averred  that  he  had  claws  on  his  feet,  wore 
no  shoes,  and  spoke  all  languages. 

"  In  1623  appeared  the  following  startling  announcement, 
which  obtained  an  immense  circulation  among  the  lower 
orders :  '  We,  brothers  of  the  Order  of  St.  John  of  Jerusa- 
lem, in  the  Isle  of  Malta,  have  received  letters  from  our  spies, 
who  are  engaged  in  our  service  in  the  country  of  Babylon, 
now  possessed  by  the  Grand  Turk;  by  the  which  letters  we 
are  advertised,  that,  on  the  1st  of  May,  in  the  year  of  our 
Lord  16&3,  a  child  was  born  in  the  town  of  Borrydot,  other- 
wise called  Calka,  near  Babylon,  of  the  which  child  the 
mother  is  a  very  aged  woman,  of  race  unknown,  called  Fort- 
Juda:  of  the  father  nothing  is  known.  The  child  is  dusky, 
has  pleasant  mouth  and  eyes,  teeth  pointed  like  those  of  a 
cat,  ears  large,  stature  by  no  means  exceeding  that  of  other 
children ;  the  said  child,  incontinent  on  his  birth,  walked  and 
talked  perfectly  well.  His  speech  is  comprehended  by  every 
one,  admonishing  the  people  that  he  is  the  true  Messiah,  and 
the  son  of  God,  and  that  in  him  all  must  believe.  Our  spies 
also  swear  and  protest  that  they  have  seen  the  said  child 
with  their  own  eyes ;  and  they  add,  that,  on  the  occasion  of 
his  nativity,  there  appeared  marvellous  signs  in  heaven,  for 
at  full  noon  the  sun  lost  its  brightness,  and  was  for  some 


The  Messianic  Movement  in  Judaism  57 

time  obscured.'  This  is  followed  by  a  list  of  other  signs  ap- 
pearing, the  most  remarkable  being  a  swarm  of  flying  ser- 
pents, and  a  shower  of  precious  stones."  [Curious  Myths 
of  the  Middle  Ages,  168-71.  The  author  refers  to  Moreau, 
his  authority  for  the  above  account,  as  a  "  contemporary 
historian."  I  have  not  been  able  to  consult  the  work  of 
Moreau.] 

In  1640,  when  the  Jews  all  over  Europe  were  eagerly  look- 
ing for  redemption,  the  belief  was  entertained  that  all  the 
Jews  should  rise  again  and  be  led  to  Jerusalem  by  the  Mes- 
siah. When  this  Messiah  had  come,  "  all  the  ships,  barkes, 
and  vessels  of  Holland  should,  by  the  powere  of  certain 
strange  whirle-winds  be  loosed  from  their  ankers  and  trans- 
ported in  a  moment  to  all  the  desolate  ports  and  havens 
throughout  the  world  wherever  the  dispersion  was,  to  convey 
their  brethren  and  tribes  to  the  Holy  Citty."  [G.  F.  Ab- 
bott, Israel  in  Europe,  251,  278,  298,  494.]  Truly  this  was 
an  age  of  Messianic  dreams,  and  of  such  dreams  as  inspire 
attempt  at  fulfilment. 

The  English  Jews  went  so  far  as  to  attempt  to  prove 
Cromwell  their  Messiah.  In  the  reign  of  Edward  I  (in 
1290)  fifteen  thousand  Jews,  supposed  to  represent  all  of 
those  in  England,  were  banished.  Since  that  time  England's 
shores  had  been  inhospitable.  Now,  under  the  Protectorate, 
they  were  allowed  to  return  and  to  remain  unmolested. 
[Frederick  Harrison,  Oliver  Cromwell.  London,  1890.]  It 
is  not  surprising,  then,  in  view  of  their  long  cherished  hope 
for  a  future  deliverer,  that  Cromwell's  leniency  towards  Jews 
should  induce  some  of  them  to  apply  to  him  the  epithet  of 
Messiah. 

Belief  in  his  Messiahship  may,  in  fact,  have  induced  some 
of  the  Jews  to  immigrate.  "  About  this  time,  Rabbi  Manas- 
seh  Ben  Israel  came  to  England  to  solicit  the  Jews'  readmis- 
sion ;  and  about  the  same  time  a  deputation  of  Asiatic  Jews 
arrived  also,  with  the  noted  Rabbi  Jacob  Ben  Azabel  at  their 
head,  to  make  inquiry,  whether  Cromwell  was  not  that  Mes- 
siah they  had  so  long  expected.  These  deputies  upon  their 
arrival,  pretending  other  business,  were  several  times  in- 
dulged with  the  favor  of  a  private  audience  with  him;  and 


58  Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

at  one  of  them  proposed  buying  all  the  Hebrew  books  and 
Mss.  belonging  to  the  University  of  Cambridge.  But  this 
the  Protector  refused,  rejecting  the  proposal  with  scorn. 
However,  they  had  the  liberty  of  viewing  them ;  after  which 
they  took  an  opportunity  to  enquire,  among  his  relations  in 
Huntingdonshire,  where  he  was  born,  whether  any  of  his 
ancestors  in  the  male  line  could  not  be  proved  of  Jewish 
extraction."  [Raguenet,  Hist.  d'Olvuer  Cromwell,  290. 
Haye,  1727.  Gentleman's  Magazine,  Jan.,  1810,  Vol.  80, 
p.  12.] 

[They  did  not  find  the  desired  ancestry.  Instead,  "  their 
enquiries  into  Oliver's  pedigree  not  being  carried  on  with  all 
the  secrecy  such  a  scheme  required,  the  true  purpose  of  their 
errand  into  England  became  quickly  known  at  London,  and 
was  very  much  talked  of;  which  causing  much  scandal  among 
the  Saints,  they  were  suddenly  packed  out  of  the  kingdom, 
without  obtaining  any  of  their  requests,  to  the  great  joy  of 
the  Country,  as  well  as  the  University  of  Cambridge,  which 
being  at  that  time  under  a  cloud,  on  account  of  their  former 
loyalty  to  the  King,  had  everything  to  fear  from  such 
visitors."] 

In  the  sixteenth  century,  in  the  days  of  Joseph  de  la  Reina, 
a  citizen  of  Safed,  Upper  Galilee,  as  in  the  early  days  of 
Roman  domination,  the  destruction  of  the  Evil  One  was  a 
preliminary  condition  to  the  advent  of  the  Messiah.  [S. 
Schechter,  Studies  in  Judasim,  248.] 

The  "  Sohar,"  composed  by  Rabbi  Mose  ben  Shem  Tob 
de  Leon,  born  1250,  prophesied  the  appearance  of  the  Mes- 
siah in  the  beginning  of  the  fourteenth  century.  In  this  ac- 
count he  ceased  to  be  the  anointed  king  who  was  to  restore 
the  political  status  of  Israel,  and  was  pictured  as  a  mythical 
being,  the  incarnation  of  the  En  Sof,  or  Spirit  of  the  Lord, 
"  the  exact  image  of  the  Messiah  taught  by  the  Christians." 
[Schindler,  126-8.] 

When,  in  the  seventeenth  century  the  Christians,  both 
Catholic  and  Protestant,  began  with  almost  unanimity  to 
predict  the  end  of  the  world  and  the  reappearance  of  Christ, 
the  Jews  remembered  the  Sohar.  They  declared  the  pre- 
diction for  the  appearance  of  the  Messiah  in  the  beginning 


The  Messianic  Movement  in  Judaism  59 

of  the  thirteenth  century  a  mistake,  alleging  that  the  proper 
time  for  his  appearance  was  about  the  same  as  that  pre- 
dicted by  their  Christian  neighbors,  namely,  the  year  1648. 
In  that  year  their  Messiah  was  to  come,  riding  upon  a  lion, 
reconquer  Palestine  in  a  miraculous  manner  and  without 
arms,  and  establish  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven  upon  earth. 
"  By  that  time,  the  Kabbalists  said,  the  last  lot  of  souls 
would  have  arrived  on  the  sublunary  world,  and  with  it  the 
soul  of  the  Messiah;  and  everything  would  then  be  in  readi- 
ness for  the  absorption  by  the  En  Sof." 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  times  amply  favored  the 
revival  of  these  forgotten  hopes:  the  Thirty  Years  War 
then  raging  in  Germany ;  the  rise  of  Protestantism ;  the  in- 
roads which  the  Turks  were  making  upon  Siebenbiirgen ;  the 
discoveries  which  were  so  disturbing  to  the  intelligent  as  well 
as  to  the  unintelligent  —  all  these  were  fostering  circum- 
stances and  foisted  the  messianic  aspiration. 

In  the  seventeenth  century,  there  arose  (in  1666)  a  messi- 
anic movement  which  affected  profoundly  or  slightly  almost 
the  entire  Jewish  world,  raising  it  to  the  highest  pitch  of  ex- 
citement by  the  news  that  at  Smyrna  the  long  awaited  Mes- 
siah was  to  be  found.  This  pretender  was  none  other  than 
Sabbatai  Sevi,  a  Smyrnan  Jew,  son  of  a  poulterer  in  that 
Mediterranean  port.  So  rapid  had  been  his  progress  in  the 
Cabala  that  at  eighteen  years  of  age  he  was  made  a  Rabbi. 
His  fame  increased.  How  could  it  be  otherwise?  Did  he 
not  fast  from  Sabbath  to  Sabbath  and  bathe  until  his  life 
was  imperilled?  And  did  not  his  beauty,  which  already  was 
exquisite,  increase  from  day  to  day?  From  his  whole  body 
came  a  delicious  odor,  suspected  by  the  physician  of  the 
family  to  be  a  perfume,  but  found  on  examination,  to  be  a 
natural  exhalation  from  the  skin.  Soon  he  began  to  preach, 
announcing  himself  openly  as  the  Son  of  David  and  having 
the  temerity,  in  proof  of  his  divine  mission,  to  utter  the 
Ineffable  Name,  Jehovah.  The  offended  Rabbis  declared 
him  worthy  of  death,  and  denounced  him  to  the  Turkish  tri- 
bunal to  be  punished  for  this  two-fold  impudent  sacrilege. 
Sabbatai  was  not  prepared  to  stem  this  effusive  torrent  and, 
like  the  Apostle  Paul,  made  a  pilgrimage  to  Saloniki.  A 


60  Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

similar  attitude  upon  the  part  of  the  Rabbis  here  induced 
him  to  look  to  other  lands  and  he  besought  refuge,  first  in 
Egypt,  then  in  Jerusalem.  When  passing  Gaza  there  came 
before  him,  trembling,  one  Nathan  Benjamin,  declaring  by 
the  Almighty  and  Dreadful  God,  "  that  he  had  seen  the 
Lord  in  his  cherub-borne  chariot  as  Ezekiel  of  old,  with  the 
ten  Sephiroth  murmuring  around  him  like  the  waves  of  the 
sea :  a  voice  came  forth, — '  Your  Redeemer  is  come ;  his  name 
is  Sabbatai  Sevi ;  he  shall  go  forth  as  a  mighty  one,  inflamed 
with  wrath  as  a  warrior;  he  shall  cry,  he  shall  roar,  he  shall 
prevail  against  his  enemies."  [Isaiah  xlii,  13.] 

This  was  the  turning  point  of  his  career.  In  Jerusalem 
he  preached,  proclaiming  himself  the  Messiah;  the  Rabbis 
trembled,  not  with  rage,  but  with  fear  and  awe.  The  prose- 
lyte, Nathan  of  Gaza,  announced  that  before  long  the  Mes- 
siah would  reveal  himself,  and  seize  the  crown  of  the  Sultan 
who  would  follow  him  like  a  slave.  Sabbatai  resided  thirteen 
years  in  Jerusalem,  then  returned  to  Egypt,  and  went  again, 
after  three  years'  absence,  to  Jerusalem,  where  he  openly 
proclaimed  himself  Messiah  in  the  Synagogue.  This  was 
too  much  for  the  Rabbis,  who  launched  an  interdict  against 
him  and  compelled  him  to  return  to  Smyrna.  This  time  his 
people  received  him,  despite  the  attaching  ban,  with  rapture. 

"  In  all  parts,  as  if  to  accomplish  the  memorable  words  of 
Joel,  prophets  and  prophetesses  appeared:  men  and  women, 
youths  and  maidens,  in  Samaria,  Adrianople,  Salonichi,  Con- 
stantinople, and  in  other  places,  fell  to  the  earth,  or  went 
raving  about  in  prophetic  raptures,  exclaiming,  it  was  said, 
in  Hebrew,  of  which  before  they  knew  not  a  word,  '  Sabbatai 
Sevi  is  the  true  Messiah  of  the  race  of  David:  to  him  the 
crown  and  the  kingdom  are  given.'  Even  the  daughters  of 
his  bitterest  opponent,  R.  Pechina,  were  seized,  as  Sabbatai 
had  predicted,  with  the  same  frenzy,  and  burst  out  in  rap- 
turous acknowledgment  of  the  Messiah  in  the  Hebrew  lan- 
guage, which  they  had  never  learned." 

Sabbatai's  claims  were  further  established  by  his  marriage 
to  a  young  woman  who  had  long  declared  herself  destined  to 
be  the  wife  of  the  Messiah.  The  story  of  this  messiah's 
bride  has  been  romantically  told  by  Israel  Zangwill,  but  we 


The  Messianic  Movement  m  Judaism  61 

follow  here  the  more  matter-of-fact  account  given  by 
Schindler,  for  the  story  in  its  unembellished  outlines  is  suffi- 
ciently romantic. 

"  In  far-off  Poland  a  whole  Jewish  colony  had  been  butch- 
ered years  before  by  the  Cossacks,  one  little  girl  only  had 
been  saved  by  accident.  She  had  been  found  the  next  day 
by  a  benevolent  person  half-starved  and  almost  frozen  to 
death,  who  gave  her  up  to  the  sisters  of  a  neighboring  nun- 
nery. Here  she  grew  up  to  be  a  maiden  of  rare  beauty ;  and 
though  she  had  been  instructed  in  the  tenets  of  the  Christian 
religion,  she  still  remained,  so  she  said,  a  Jewess  at  heart. 
One  night  this  girl  was  found  by  some  Israelites  almost  naked 
on  their  burial  place.  She  claimed  that  the  spirit  of  her 
father  had  taken  her  in  the  stillness  of  the  night  and  carried 
her  through  the  air  from  the  cloister  to  this  place.  He  had 
told  her  that  she  was  to  become  the  bride  of  the  Messiah. 
To  the  astonished  Jewish  women  she  even  showed  the  finger- 
marks which  her  father's  spirit  had  left  on  her  body.  The 
Jews,  being  afraid  to  get  into  trouble  for  her  sake,  did  not 
investigate  the  matter,  but  sent  her  to  Amsterdam,  where, 
she  said,  she  had  a  brother.  She  remained  for  a  few  years 
in  Amsterdam;  then  went  to  Frankfort-on-the-Main,  and 
later  to  Livorno,  always  claiming  that  she  was  to  be  the 
bride  of  the  Messiah.  She  did  not,  however,  lead  such  a  life 
as  would  be  becoming  to  such  a  distinguished  person ;  for  in 
all  these  cities  she  bore  an  ill  name.  Whenever  the  incon- 
sistency of  her  behavior  was  shown  to  her,  she  would  say 
that  because  she  was  to  become  the  wife  of  the  Messiah,  her 
irregularities  had  been  allowed  to  her  by  divine  revelation. 
The  story  of  her  adventures  had  reached  Cairo  and  Sabbatai 
at  once  corroborated  her  story,  claiming  that  he  had  been 
waiting  for  her  appearance  as  she  had  for  his.  He  sent  for 
her,  and  in  the  house  of  the  generous  Raphael  their  nuptials 
were  consummated  in  gorgeous  style.  This  marriage  made 
him  at  once  a  Messiah,  and  he  justified  his  action  by  refer- 
ring to  the  prophet  Hosea,  who  likewise  had  been  ordered 
by  God  to  marry  a  lewd  woman."  [Messianic  Expectations, 
143-4*.  See  also,  Voltaire,  Ancient  and  Modern  History, 
VI,  107-13.  New  York,  1901.  Enthusiasts  (Religious)  in 


62  Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

Hastings'  Ency.  Religion  and  Ethics,  V,  320.] 

One  wealthy  Israelite,  of  Constantinople,  more  cautious 
than  the  rest,  apprehending  that  this  religious  frenzy  would 
bring  some  dreadful  persecution  against  the  Jews,  went  to 
the  Grand  Vizier,  and  requested  a  certificate  that  he  had 
never  been  a  believer  in  the  Messiah.  This  reached  the  ears 
of  the  partisans  of  Sabbatai;  they  accused  their  crafty  op- 
ponents of  treasonable  designs  against  the  Turks,  brought 
forward  false  witnesses  and  the  over-cautious  unbeliever  was 
sentenced  to  the  galleys.  From  many  parts  of  Europe 
came  Jews  to  pay  not  only  their  homage,  but,  what  was  still 
better  proof  of  their  unwavering  confidence,  their  money, 
to  this  future  deliverer  of  his  people.  He,  in  response  to 
their  homage  and  funds,  parcelled  out,  with  great  liberality, 
estates  in  the  Holy  Land  which  no  more  belonged  to  him  than 
to  the  deluded  purchaser.  Nothing  succeeds  like  success  but 
seldom  does  it  consider  the  price.  Sabbatai  was  moving 
forward  with  such  headlong  impetus  that  his  claims  could 
not  long  remain  uncontested. 

The  test  came  when  he  proceeded  to  Constantinople  and 
found  the  Sultan's  power  greater  than  his  own.  It  came 
again  when  the  Sultan  proposed  to  decide  the  matter  for  the 
then  wavering  Sabbatai  by  shooting  three  poisoned  arrows 
at  him,  suggesting  that  his  invulnerability  would  be  proof 
of  the  genuineness  of  his  claims.  Again,  came  the  test :  If 
you  refuse  to  submit  to  this  ordeal  you  have  the  choice  of 
being  put  to  death  or  of  accepting  Mohammedanism.  In 
view  of  this  alternative  it  involved  no  great  length  of  time 
for  Sabbatai  to  decide  that  his  true  mission  in  life  was  to 
preach  the  total  abolition  of  the  Jewish  religion  and  the  sub- 
stitution for  it  of  Islamism.  [G.  F.  Abbott,  Israel  in  Eu- 
rope, 174-6,  242,  281,  326,  484.  Voltaire,  Essai  sur  les 
Moeurs.  Morris  Joseph,  Judaism,  169.  Greenstone,  op. 
cit.,  213-27.  Lady  Magnus,  Outlines  of  Jewish  History, 
226-30.  H.  H.  Milman,  Hist,  of  the  Jews,  III,  369-80. 
J.  G.  Frazer,  The  Dying  God  (Golden  Bough,  3rd  edition). 
A  literary  account  is  given  by  Israel  Zangwill,  in  his  Dream- 
ers of  the  Ghetto.  See  also  Leroy  Beaulieu,  Israel  Among 
the  Nations,  61,  196.  G.  Karpeles,  Sketch  of  Jewish  His- 


The  Messianic  Movement  in  Judaism  63 

tory,  86-9.     Graetz,  Geschichte  der  Juden,  Vol.  VI.     Geiger, 
Geschichte  der  Juden  in  Deutschland,  V,  100-5  (1892).] 

Among  the  downtrodden  Jews  especially  there  was  re- 
sponse to  the  appeal  of  Sabbatai.  Among  the  Persian  Jews 
confidence  and  excitement  ran  so  high  that  the  husbandmen 
refused  to  labor  in  the  fields.  Neither  would  they  pay  trib- 
ute to  the  governor,  alleging  with  one  voice,  that  their  De- 
liverer had  come.  Indeed,  they  readily  agreed  to  pay  two 
hundred  tomans  if  the  Messiah  did  not  appear  within  three 
months.  In  Poland,  where  the  Jews  had  but  lately  suffered 
terrible  persecutions  during  the  Cossack  invasions,  the  Sab- 
bataian  craze  assumed  most  alarming  proportions.  [G. 
Karpeles,  op.  cit.,  85-6,  89.  P.  Goodman,  Hist,  of  the  Jews, 
104-5.  G.  F.  Abbott,  Israel  in  Europe,  242,  281.  Basker- 
ville,  The  Polish  Jew,  261ff.  Jost,  Allg.  Geschichte.  Isr. 
Voltes,  II,  298ff.  (Berlin,  1832).  Greenstone,  227.  For 
the  Tannaite  period  see  Joseph  Klausner,  Die  Messianischen 
Vorstellungen  des  Judischen  Volkes  im  Zeit  alter  der  Tam- 
naiten,  Kralsan,  1903.  (A  thesis  at  Heidelberg.)]  Even  in 
England  the  Jews  heralded  Sabbatai  as  the  Messiah  who 
would  reinstate  Israel  in  the  Holy  Land.  We  are  indebted 
for  this  information  to  an  entry  in  the  diary  of  that  versatile 
gossip,  Samuel  Pepys,  under  date  of  February  19,  1666: 
"  I  am  told  for  certain,"  writes  Pepys,  "  what  I  have  heard 
once  or  twice  already,  of  a  Jew  in  town,  that  in  the  name  of 
the  rest  do  offer  to  give  any  man  ten  pounds  sterling  to  be 
paid  one  hundred  pounds,  if  a  certain  person  now  at  Smyrna 
be  not  within  two  years  owned  by  all  the  Princes  of  the  East, 
and  particularly  the  Grand  Segnor,  as  the  King  of  the 
world,  in  the  same  manner  we  do  the  King  of  England  here, 
and  that  this  man  is  the  true  Messiah.  One  named  a  friend 
of  his  that  had  received  ten  pieces  of  gold  upon  this  score, 
and  says  that  the  Jew  hath  disposed  of  1100  pounds  in  this 
manner,  which  is  very  strange;  and  certainly  this  year  of 
1666  will  be  a  year  of  great  action;  but  what  the  conse- 
quences of  it  will  be,  God  knows  !  "  [G.  F.  Abbott,  op.  cit., 


< 


Jonas    Salvador,   the   Jew   of  Pigueral,"   wrote  Father 
mon  from  Paris  in  May,  1670?  "  has  often  spoken  to  me 


64  Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

about  a  new  Messiah  who  is  now  at  Adrianople.  His  name, 
if  I  recollect  right,  is  Sabbatai  Sevi ;  and  I  have  seen  a  Jew- 
ish convert  to  him  here,  who  affirms  that  Sevi  performs  mira- 
cles. This  is  mere  illusion.  However,  since  this  pretended 
Messiah  has  become  a  Mahometan,  the  Turks  go  from  all 
parts  of  Adrianople  to  see  him.  M.  Hardi  has  given  me  a 
little  book  of  prayers  to  be  said  by  the  Jews  who  go  to 
Adrianople  to  see  their  Messiah.  This  book  has  been  printed 
by  the  Jews  of  the  Portuguese  Synagogue  at  Amsterdam: 
if  you  wish  to  make  a  pilgrimage  I  will  make  you  a  present 
of  it.  However,  this  new  Messiah  cannot  be  any  obstacle  to 
your  views,  as  among  your  good  friends,  the  Jews,  one  Mes- 
siah need  not  stand  in  the  way  of  another.  I  am  convinced 
that  Sabbatai  Sevi  has  no  footing  but  the  understanding 
carried  on  between  him  and  some  Turkish  officers,  who  are 
happy  in  this  opportunity  of  drawing  money  from  the  over- 
credulous  Jews.  Those  who  came  to  pay  their  respects  to 
the  new  Messiah  are  fleeced  pretty  smartly."  [Gentleman's 
Magazine,  Vol.  83,  p.  614^6  (1813).] 

Sabbatai's  messiahship  found  a  number  of  claimants. 
First,  in  the  person  of  Jacob  Querido,  brother  of  Sabbatai's 
fourth  wife.  Later,  with  four  hundred  followers,  he  trans- 
ferred his  allegiance  to  Islamism.  The  tendency  toward  imi- 
tation is  great,  especially  when  circumstances  foster  it. 
Upon  his  death,  his  son  Berechiah,  or  Berokia,  claimed  to  be 
the  Messiah.  Next  came  Miguel  Cardoso  (1630-1706),  who 
also  later  went  over  to  Islam.  Mordecai  Mokiah,  "  the  Re- 
buker,"  from  1678—83,  made  claims  to  messiahship,  at  first 
preaching  that  Sabbatai  was  the  true  Messiah,  that  his  con- 
version to  Islam  was,  for  mystic  reasons,  necessary,  that  he 
did  not  die,  and  would  reveal  himself  within  three  years  after 
his  supposed  death.  The  persecutions  of  the  Jews  in  Spain, 
in  Austria,  in  France,  and  the  pestilence  in  Germany,  were 
pointed  to  as  heralding  the  messianic  era.  Other  Sabbataian 
followers  who  proclaimed  their  messiahship  were  Lobele 
Prossnitz,  Isaiah  Hasid,  Jonathan  Eybeschutz,  and,  finally, 
Jacob  Frank  (1726-91).  Jacob  Frank  secured  a  following 
among  Turkish  and  Wallachian  Jews  and  later  went  to  Po- 
dolia  where  he  revealed  himself  as  Santo  senior,  "  Holy 


The  Messianic  Movement  in  Judaism  65 

Lord."  He  finally  advised  his  followers  to  elect  Christianity, 
and  about  one  thousand  of  them  did  so.  [G.  F.  Abbott,  op. 
cit.] 

A  Russian  writer  has  given  us  a  good  account  of  the  Sab- 
bataian  movement  among  the  Jews  of  Poland : 

"  The  mystical  and  sectarian  tendencies  which  were  in 
vogue  among  the  masses  of  Polish  Jewry  were  the  outcome 
of  the  Messianic  movement,  which,  originated  by  Sabbatai 
Zevi  in  1648,  spread  like  wildfire  throughout  the  whole  Jew- 
ish world.  The  movement  made  a  particularly  deep  impres- 
sion in  Poland,  where  the  mystical  frame  of  mind  of  the 
Polish-Jewish  masses  made  a  favorable  soil  for  it.  It  was 
more  than  a  mere  coincidence  that  one  and  the  same  year, 
1648,  was  marked  by  the  wholesale  murder  of  the  Jews  of 
the  Ukraine  and  the  first  public  appearance  of  Sabbatai  Zevi 
in  Smyrna.  The  thousands  of  captive  Jews,  who  in  the 
summer  of  that  year  had  been  carried  to  Turkey  by  the 
Tatar  allies  of  Khmelnitzki  and  ransomed  there  by  their  co- 
religionists, conveyed  to  the  minds  of  the  Oriental  Jews  an 
appalling  impression  of  the  destruction  of  the  great  Jewish 
center  in  Poland.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  descrip- 
tions of  this  catastrophe  deeply  affected  the  impressionable 
mind  of  Sabbatai,  and  prepared  the  soil  for  the  success  of  the 
propaganda  he  carried  on  during  his  wanderings  in  Turkey, 
Palestine,  and  Egypt. 

"  When,  in  the  year  1666,  the  whole  Jewish  world  re- 
sounded with  the  fame  of  Sabbatai  Zevi  as  the  Messianic 
liberator  of  the  Jewish  people,  the  Jews  of  Poland  responded 
with  particularly  keen,  almost  morbid  sensitiveness. 

"  '  The  Jews,'  says  the  contemporary  Ukrainian  writer 
Galatovski,  '  triumphed.  Some  abandoned  their  houses  and 
property,  refusing  to  do  any  work  and  claiming  that  the 
Messiah  would  soon  arrive  and  carry  them  on  a  cloud  to 
Jerusalem.  Others  fasted  for  days,  denying  food  even  to 
their  little  ones,  and  during  that  severe  winter  bathed  in 
ice-holes,  at  the  same  time  reciting  a  recently  composed 
prayer.  Faint-hearted  and  destitute  Christians,  hearing  the 
stories  of  the  miracles  performed  by  the  false  Messiah  and 
beholding  the  boundless  arrogance  of  the  Jews,  began  to 


66  Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

doubt  Christ.' 

"  From  the  South,  the  Sabbataian  agitation  penetrated 
to  the  North,  to  distant  White  Russia.  We  are  informed 
by  a  contemporary  monastic  chronicler,  that  on  the  walls 
of  the  churches  in  Moghilev  on  the  Dneiper  mysterious  in- 
scriptions appeared  proclaiming  the  Jewish  Messiah  *  Sapsai.' 

"  In  the  course  of  the  eventful  year  in  which  the  whole 
Jewish  world  raved  about  the  coming  of  Messiah  and  depu- 
tations arrived  from  all  over  the  Jewish  world  at  the  '  Castle 
of  Splendor,'  Sabbatai's  residence  in  Abydos,  near  Constan- 
tinople, a  delegation  was  also  despatched  by  the  Jews  of 
Poland.  In  this  delegation  were  included  Isaiah,  the  son  of 
David  Halevi,  the  famous  rabbi  of  Lemberg,  author  of  the 
Taz,  and  the  grandson  of  another  celebrity,  Joel  Sirkis. 
The  Polish  delegates  were  sent,  as  it  were,  on  a  scouting 
expedition,  being  instructed  to  investigate  on  the  spot  the 
correctness  of  the  Messianic  claims  concerning  Sabbatai  Zevi. 

"  When,  in  the  summer  of  1666,  they  were  presented  to 
Sabbatai  at  Abydos,  they  were  deeply  impressed  by  the 
sight  of  the  thousands  of  enthusiastic  admirers  who  had  come 
from  all  possible  countries  to  render  homage  to  him.  Sab- 
batai handed  the  Polish  delegates  this  enigmatic  letter,  ad- 
dressed to  the  Rabbi  of  Lemberg: 

"  *  On  the  sixth  day  after  the  resuscitation  of  my  spirit, 
and  light,  on  the  twenty-second  of  Tammuz,  I  herewith  send 
a  gift  to  the  man  of  faith,  the  venerable  old  man,  Rabbi 
David  of  the  house  of  Levi,  the  author  of  Ture  Zahab  — 
may  he  flourish  in  his  old  age  in  strength  and  freshness! 
Soon  will  I  avenge  you  and  comfort  you,  even  as  a  mother 
comforteth  her  son,  and  recompence  you  a  hundred  fold  (for 
the  sufferings  endured  by  you).  The  day  of  revenge  is  in 
my  heart,  and  the  year  of  redemption  hath  arrived.  Thus 
speaketh  David,  the  son  of  Jesse,  the  head  of  all  the  kings  of 
the  earth,  the  Messiah  of  the  God  of  Jacob,  the  Lion  of  the 
mountain  recesses,  Sabbatai  Zevi.' 

"  The  gift  referred  to  in  the  letter  consisted  of  a  shirt 
which  Sabbatai  handed  over  to  Rabbi  David's  son,  with  the 
instruction  to  put  it  on  his  aged  and  feeble  father  and  recite 
at  the  same  time  the  words,  '  May  thy  youth  be  renewed  like 


The  Messianic  Movement  in  Judaism  67 

that  of  the  eagle.' 

"  Having  learned  from  the  delegates  that  a  Cabalistic 
propagandist,  by  the  name  of  Nehemiah  Cohen,  who  pre- 
dicted the  coming  of  the  Messiah,  had  appeared  in  Poland, 
Sabbatai  .added  a  postscript  in  his  letter  in  which  he  asked 
that  this  '  prophet,'  being  the  forerunner  of  the  Messiah, 
be  sent  to  him  speedily.  The  omniscient  Messiah  failed  to 
foresee  that  this  invitation  spelled  ruin  for  him.  It  is  gen- 
erally conceded  that  the  interview  between  Nehemiah,  the 
Cabalistic  fanatic,  and  Sabbatai  was  one  of  the  causes  that 
accelerated  the  downfall  of  the  Messiah.  After  a  Cabalistic 
argument  with  Sabbatai,  which  lasted  three  days,  Nehemiah 
refused  to  acknowledge  him  as  the  expected  Messiah.  While 
in  Adrianople  he  revealed  Sabbatai's  plans  to  the  Turkish 
authorities,  and  this  led  to  the  arrest  of  the  pseudo-Messiah 
and  his  feigned  conversion  to  Islam. 

"  The  news  of  the  hideous  desertion  of  Judaism  by  the 
redeemer  of  the  Jewish  people  was  slow  in  reaching  the  Jews 
of  Poland,  and  when  it  did  reach  them,  only  a  part  of  his 
adherents  felt  it  their  duty  to  abandon  him.  The  more 
credulous  rank  and  file  remained  steadfast  in  their  loyalty, 
hoping  for  further  miracles,  to  be  performed  by  the  mysteri- 
ous savior  of  Judaism,  who  had  '  put  on  the  turban  '  tem- 
porarily in  order  to  gain  the  confidence  of  the  Sultan  and 
afterwards  to  dethrone  him.  When  Sabbatai  died,  Poland 
witnessed  the  same  transformation  of  political  into  mystical 
Messianism  which  was  taking  place  at  the  time  in  Western 
Europe. 

"  The  proximity  to  Turkey  and  to  the  city  of  Saloniki, 
the  headquarters  of  the  Sabbataian  sect,  lent  particular  in- 
tensity to  the  sectarian  movement  in  Poland,  fomenting  a 
spiritual  agitation  in  the  Jewish  masses  from  the  end  of  the 
seventeenth  down  to  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century.  The 
main  center  of  the  movement  came  to  be  in  Podolia,  part  of 
which  had  been  annexed  by  Turkey,  after  the  Polish-Turkish 
War  of  1672,  and  was  returned  to  Poland  only  in  1699  by 
the  peace  treaty  of  Carlowitz. 

"  The  agitators  and  originators  of  these  sects  were  re- 
cruited partly  from  the  obscure  masses,  partly  from  among 


68  Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

the  Cabalists  whose  minds  were  befogged.  At  the  end  of 
the  seventeenth  century,  a  Lithuanian  Jew  by  the  name  of 
Zadok,  a  plain,  ignorant  man,  who  had  been  an  innkeeper, 
began  to  prophesy  that  the  Messiah  would  appear  in  1695. 
About  the  same  time  a  more  serious  propagandist  of  the 
Messianic  idea  appeared  in  the  person  of  the  Cabalist  Hay- 
yim  Malakh.  Having  resided  in  Turkey,  where  he  had  been 
in  contact  with  the  Sabbat  aian  circle  in  Saloniki,  Malakh 
returned  to  Poland  and  began  to  muddle  the  heads  of  the 
Jews.  He  secretly  preached  that  Sabbat ai  Zevi  was  the 
Messiah,  and  that,  like  Moses,  who  had  kept  the  Israelites 
in  the  desert  for  forty  years  before  bringing  them  to  the 
borders  of  the  Promised  Land,  he  would  rise  from  the  dead 
and  redeem  the  Jewish  people  in  1706,  forty  years  after  his 
conversion. 

"  Malakh's  propaganda  proved  successful,  partly  among 
the  ignorant  masses  of  Podolia  and  Galicia.  Malakh  was 
soon  joined  by  another  agitator,  Judah  Hasid,  from  Shidlo- 
vitz  or  Shedletz.  Having  studied  Practical  Cabala  in  Italy, 
Judah  Hasid  returned  to  his  native  land  and  began  to  initiate 
the  studious  Polish  youths  into  this  hidden  wisdom.  The  cir- 
cle of  his  pupils  and  adherents  grew  larger  and  larger,  and 
became  consolidated  in  a  special  sect,  which  called  itself  *  the 
Pious,'  or  Hasidim.  The  members  of  this  sect  engaged  in 
ascetic  exercises ;  in  anticipation  of  the  Messiah,  they  made 
public  confession  of  their  sins  and  inserted  mystical  prayers 
in  their  liturgy.  Hayyim  Malakh  joined  the  circle  of  Judah 
Hasid,  and  brought  over  to  it  his  Sabbataian  followers. 
The  number  of  '  the  Pious  '  grew  so  large  that  the  Orthodox 
rabbis  became  alarmed  and  began  to  persecute  them.  Under 
the  effect  of  these  persecutions  the  leaders  of  the  sect  started 
a  propaganda  for  a  mass-emigration  to  Palestine,  there  to 
welcome  in  triumph  the  approaching  Messiah. 

"  Many  Jews  were  carried  away  by  this  propaganda.  In 
the  beginning  of  1700,  a  troop  of  one  hundred  and  twenty 
pilgrims  started  on  their  way,  under  the  joint  leadership  of 
Judah  Hasid  and  Hayyim  Malakh.  The  emigrants  travelled 
in  groups,  by  way  of  Germany,  Austria,  and  Italy,  stopping 
in  various  cities,  where  their  leaders,  dressed,  after  the  man- 


The  Messianic  Movement  in  Judaism  69 

ner  of  penitent  sinners,  in  white  shrouds,  delivered  fiery 
exhortations,  in  which  they  announced  the  speedy  arrival  of 
the  Messiah.  The  lower  classes  and  the  women  were  par- 
ticularly impressed  by  the  speeches  of  the  rigorously  ascetic 
Judah  Hasid.  On  the  road  the  Polish  wanderers  were  joined 
by  other  groups  of  Jews  desirous  of  visiting  the  Holy  Land, 
so  that  the  number  of  the  travellers  reached  1300  souls. 
One  party  of  emigrants,  led  by  Hayyim  Malakh,  was  des- 
patched, with  the  help  of  charitable  Jews  of  Vienna,  from 
that  city  to  Constantinople.  Another  party,  headed  by 
Judah  Hasid,  travelled  to  Palestine  by  way  of  Venice. 

"  After  much  suffering  and  many  losses  on  their  journey, 
during  which  several  hundred  died  or  remained  behind,  one 
thousand  reached  Jerusalem.  On  arriving  at  their  destina- 
tion the  newcomers  experienced  severe  disappointment.  One 
of  the  leaders,  Judah  Hasid,  died  shortly  after  their  arrival 
in  the  Holy  City.  His  adherents  were  cooped  up  in  some 
courtyard,  and  depended  on  the  gifts  of  charitable  Jews. 
The  destitute  inhabitants  of  Jerusalem,  themselves  living  on 
the  charity  of  their  European  brethren,  were  not  in  a  posi- 
tion to  support  the  pilgrims,  who  soon  found  themselves 
without  means  of  subsistence.  Disillusioned  and  discouraged, 
the  sectarians  rapidly  dispersed  in  all  directions.  Some 
joined  the  ranks  of  the  Turkish  Sabbataians,  who  posed  as 
Mohammedans.  Others  returned  to  Western  Europe  and 
Poland,  mystifying  credulous  people  with  all  kinds  of  wild 
tales.  Still  others  in  their  despair  let  themselves  be  per- 
suaded by  German  missionaries  to  embrace  Christianity. 
Hayyim  Malakh,  the  second  leader  of  the  pilgrims,  remained 
in  Jerusalem  for  some  time  with  a  handful  of  his  adherents. 
In  this  circle  symbolic  services,  patterned  after  the  ritual 
of  the  Sabbataians,  were  secretly  held,  and,  as  rumor  had  it, 
the  sectarians  performed  dances  before  a  wooden  image  of 
Sabbatai  Zevi.  Having  been  forced  to  leave  Jerusalem,  the 
dangerous  heretic  travelled  about  in  Turkey,  where  he  main- 
tained relations  with  sectarian  circles.  After  being  banished 
from  Constantinople  by  the  rabbis,  Hayyim  Malakh  returned 
to  his  native  country,  and  renewed  his  propaganda  in  Podolia 
and  Galicia.  He  died  about  1720." 


70  Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

But  Sabbat aianism  was  not  yet  dead. 

"  The  ill  success  of  the  '  Hasidim  '  failed  to  check  the 
spread  of  sectarianism  in  Poland.  In  Galicia  and  Podolia, 
the  conventicles  of  '  Secret  Sabbataians,'  dubbed  by  the 
people  '  Shabsitzvinnikes  '  (from  the  name  of  Sabbatai  Zevi) 
or,  in  abbreviated  form,  '  Shebsen,'  continued  as  before. 
These  Sabbataians  neglected  many  ceremonies,  among  them 
the  fast  of  the  Ninth  of  Ab,  which,  because  of  its  being  the 
birthday  of  Sabbatai,  had  been  transformed  by  them  from 
a  day  of  mourning  into  a  festival.  Their  cult  contained  ele- 
ments both  of  asceticism  and  libertinism.  While  some  gave 
themselves  over  to  repentance,  self-torture,  and  mourning 
for  Zion,  others  indulged  in  debaucheries  and  excesses  of  all 
kinds.  Alarmed  by  this  dangerous  heresy,  the  rabbis  at  last 
resorted  to  energetic  measures.  In  the  summer  of  1722,  a 
number  of  rabbis,  coming  from  various  communities,  assem- 
bled in  Lemberg,  and,  with  solemn  ceremonies,  proclaimed 
the  harem  (excommunication)  against  all  Sabbataians  who 
should  fail  to  renounce  their  errors  and  return  to  the  path 
of  Orthodoxy  within  a  given  time. 

"  The  measure  was  partly  successful.  Many  sectarians 
publicly  confessed  their  sins,  and  submitted  to  severe 
penances.  In  most  cases,  however,  the  '  Shebsen '  clung 
stubbornly  to  their  heresy,  and  in  1725  the  rabbis  were  forced 
to  launch  a  second  harem  against  them.  By  the  new  act  of 
excommunication  every  Orthodox  Jew  was  called  upon  to 
report  to  the  rabbinical  authorities  all  the  secret  sectarians 
known  to  him.  The  act  of  excommunication  was  sent  out  to 
many  communities,  and  publicly  recited  in  the  synagogues. 
But  even  these  persecutions  failed  to  wipe  out  the  heresy. 
Secret  Sabbataianism  continued  to  linger  in  the  nooks  and 
corners  of  Podolia  and  Galicia,  and  finally  degenerated  into 
the  dangerous  movement  known  as  Frankism."  [S.  M. 
Dubnow,  History  of  the  Jews  in  Russia  and  Poland  from  the 
Earliest  Times  to  the  Present  Day,  I,  204-11.  Philadelphia, 
1916.  Translated  from  the  Russian  by  I.  Friedlander.] 

The  belief  in  Sabbatai  has  been  retained  to  this  day  by  a 
sect  of  Turkish  Jews,  the  Donmeh,  who  await  expectantly 
his  second  coming.  [Judaism,  Hastings'  E.R.E.,  VII,  605. 


The  Messianic  Movement  in  Judaism  71 


Donmeh,  Jewish  Ency.,  IV,  639.     J.  H.  Allen,  op.  cit., 

E.  W.  Latimer,  Europe  in  Africa  in  the  Nineteenth  Century 

(Chicago,  1896),  p.  77.] 

"  Jacob  Frank  was  born  in  1726  in  a  town  of  Podolia. 
His  father  Judah  Leib  belonged  to  the  lower  Jewish  clergy, 
among  whom  all  kinds  of  perverted  mystical  notions  were 
particularly  in  vogue.  Judah  Leib  fell  under  suspicion  as 
an  adherent  of  Sabbataianism,  and  was  expelled  from  the 
community,  which  he  had  served  as  rabbi  or  preacher.  He 
settled  in  Wallachia,  where  little  Jacob  grew  up  in  an  atmos- 
phere filled  with  mystic  and  Messianic  fancies  and  marked 
by  superstition  and  moral  laxity.  From  his  early  youth  he 
showed  repugnance  to  study,  and  remained,  as  he  later  called 
himself,  an  ignoramus.  While  living  with  his  parents  in 
Wallachia,  he  first  served  as  clerk  in  a  shop,  and  afterwards 
became  a  travelling  salesman,  peddling  jewelry  and  notions 
through  the  towns  and  villages.  Occasionally  young  Jacob 
travelled  with  his  goods  to  adjoining  Turkey,  where  he  lived 
for  some  time  in  Saloniki  and  Smyrna,  the  centers  of  the 
Sabbat  aian  sect.  Here,  it  seems,  Jacob  received  his  nick- 
name Frank,  or  Frenk,  a  designation  applied  [since  the 
Crusades]  to  all  Europeans.  Between  1752  and  1755  he 
lived  alternately  in  Smyrna  and  Saloniki,  and  came  into  con- 
tact with  the  Sabbataians,  participating  in  their  symbolic, 
semi-Mohammedan  cult.  It  was  then  and  there  that  Jacob 
Frank  was  struck  with  the  idea  of  returning  to  Poland  and 
playing  the  role  of  prophet  and  leader  among  the  local 
secret  Sabbataians,  who  were  oppressed  and  disorganized. 
Selfish  ambition  and  the  spirit  of  adventure  rather  than  mys- 
tical enthusiasm  pushed  him  in  that  direction. 

"  In  1755  Frank  made  his  appearance  in  Podolia  and, 
joining  hands  with  the  leaders  of  the  local  '  Shebsen,'  began 
to  initiate  them  into  the  doctrines  he  had  imported  from 
Turkey.  The  sectarians  arranged  secret  meetings,  at 
which  the  religious  mysteries  centering  around  the  Sab- 
bataian  'Trinity'  (God,  the  Messiah,  and  a  female  hypos- 
tasis  of  God,  the  Shekhinah)  were  enunciated.  Frank  was 
evidently  regarded  as  the  second  person  of  the  Trinity  and 
as  a  reincarnation  of  Sabbatai  Zevi,  being  designated  as 


7$  Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

S.S.,  i.  e.,  Santo  Senior,  *  the  Holy  Lord.'  One  of  these  as- 
semblies ended  in  a  scandal,  and  turned  the  attention  of  the 
rabbis  to  this  new  agitation. 

"  During  the  fair  held  in  Lantzkorona,  Frank  and  two 
score  of  his  followers,  consisting  of  men  and  women,  had  as- 
sembled in  an  inn  to  hold  their  mystical  services.  They  sang 
their  hymns,  exciting  themselves  to  the  point  of  ecstasy  by 
merrymaking  and  dancing.  Inquisitive  outsiders  managed 
to  catch  a  glimpse  of  the  assembly,  and  afterwards  related 
that  the  sectarians  danced  around  a  nude  woman,  who  may 
possibly  have  represented  the  Shekhinah,  or  Matronitha,  the 
third  person  of  the  Trinity.  The  Orthodox  Jews  on  the 
market-place,  who  were  not  used  to  such  orgies,  were  pro- 
foundly disgusted  by  the  conduct  of  the  sectarians.  They 
informed  the  local  Polish  authorities  that  a  Turkish  subject 
was  exciting  the  people  and  propagating  a  new  religion. 
The  gay  company  was  arrested,  Frank,  being  a  foreigner, 
was  banished  to  Turkey,  and  his  followers  were  delivered  into 
the  hands  of  the  rabbis  and  the  Kahal  authorities  (1756)." 
[Dubnow,  I,  211-20.] 

Later  the  followers  of  Frank  summoned  him  from  Turkey. 
"  The  latter  immediately  appeared  in  Podolia  with  a  new 
plan,  which,  he  hoped,  would  at  once  rid  him  and  his  ad- 
herents of  all  opponents.  In  the  discourses  delivered  before 
his  followers  Frank  dwelt  a  great  deal  on  his  exalted  mis- 
sion and  on  the  divine  revelations  which  commanded  him  to 
follow  in  the  footsteps  of  Sabbatai  Zevi.  Just  as  Sabbatai 
had  been  compelled  to  embrace  the  Mohammedan  faith  tem- 
porarily, so  he  and  his  adherents  were  predestined  from  above 
to  adopt  the  Christian  religion  as  a  mere  disguise  and  as  a 
stepping  stone  to  the  *  faith  of  the  true  Messiah.'  Filled 
with  thirst  for  revenge,  the  sectarians  hit  upon  the  thought 
of  lending  the  weight  of  their  testimony  to  the  hideous  ritual 
murder  accusation,  which  was  agitating  the  whole  of  Poland 
at  that  time,  claiming  many  a  victim  in  the  Jewish  ranks." 
[Frank,  Jacob,  in  Cyclopedia  of  Bibl.,  Theol.,  and  Eccles. 
Literature.] 

About  175"0,  Besht,  another  Polish  Jew,  inspired  no  doubt 
by  the  Frankish  movement,  heralded  anew  the  coming  of  the 


2 ne  mess^an^c  movement  w  Judaism  13 

Messiah.  To  his  brother-in-law,  Kutover,  living  in  the  Holy 
Land,  he  sent  a  prophetic  manifesto  telling  of  his  miraculous 
vision,  or  revelation.  He  herein  asserted  that  on  the  day 
of  the  Jewish  New  Year,  "  his  soul  had  been  lifted  up  to 
heaven,  where  he  beheld  the  Messiah  and  many  souls  of  the 
dead.  In  reply  to  the  petitions  of  Besht,  4  Let  me  know,  my 
Master,  when  thou  wilt  appear  on  earth,'  the  Messiah  said: 

"  '  This  shall  be  a  sign  unto  thee :  when  thy  doctrine  shall 
become  known,  and  the  fountains  of  thy  wisdom  shall  be 
poured  forth,  when  all  other  men  shall  have  the  power  of 
performing  the  same  mysteries  as  thyself,  then  shall  disap- 
pear all  the  hosts  of  impurity,  and  the  time  of  great  favor 
and  salvation  shall  arrive.' 

"  Revelations  of  this  kind  were  greatly  in  vogue  at  the 
time,  and  had  a  profound  effect  upon  mystically  inclined 
minds.  The  notion  spread  that  Besht  was  in  contact  with 
the  prophet  Eli j  ah,  and  that  his  '  teacher '  was  the  Biblical 
seer  Ahijah  of  Shilo.  As  far  as  the  common  people  were 
concerned,  they  believed  in  Besht  as  a  miracle-worker,  and 
loved  him  as  a  religious  teacher  who  made  no  distinction  be- 
tween the  educated  and  the  ordinary  Jew.  The  scholars  and 
the  Cabalists  were  fascinated  by  his  wise  discourses  and  para- 
bles, in  which  the  most  abstract  tenets  of  the  Cabala  were 
concretely  illustrated,  reduced  to  popular  language,  and  ap- 
plied to  the  experiences  of  everyday  life.  Besht's  circle  in 
Madzhibozh  grew  constantly  in  number.  Shortly  before  his 
death,  Besht  witnessed  the  agitation  conducted  by  the  Frank- 
ists  in  Podolia  and  their  subsequent  wholesale  baptism.  The 
Polish  rabbis  rejoiced  in  the  conversion  of  the  sectarians  to 
Christianity,  since  it  rid  the  Jewish  people  of  dangerous 
heretics.  But  when  Besht  learned  of  the  fact  he  exclaimed: 
'  I  heard  the  Lord  cry  and  say :  As  long  as  the  diseased  limb 
is  joined  to  the  body,  there  is  hope  that  it  may  be  cured  in 
time ;  but  when  it  has  been  cut  off,  it  is  lost  forever/  There 
is  reason  to  believe  that  Besht  was  one  of  the  rabbis  who  had 
been  invited  to  participate  in  the  Frankist  disputation  in 
Lemberg,  in  1759.  In  the  spring  of  the  following  year, 
Besht  breathed  his  last,  surrounded  by  his  disciples." 
[Dubnow,  I,  228-9.] 


74  Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

A  Messiah  by  the  name  of  Mordecai,  who  appeared  in 
Germany  in  the  year  1682  had  a  considerable  following. 
When  the  imposture  was  discovered  he  was  compelled  to  flee 
to  Poland  to  save  his  life,  and  nothing  further  has  been  re- 
corded about  him. 

The  Molokane,  the  Russian  Sabbatarians,  expect  the  com- 
ing of  the  Messiah,  since  the  promises  of  the  Prophets  remain 
unfulfilled,  Jesus  being  not  a  Messiah  but  merely  a  great 
prophet.  The  coming  Messiah  will  not  be  a  King  and  Con- 
queror, but  a  great  philosopher  and  moral  teacher,  who 
will  reveal  to  mankind  the  greatest  truths,  scatter  the  Mosaic 
creed  over  the  entire  world,  and  thus  establish  the  reign  of 
universal  happiness  on  earth. 

"  The  rites  and  worship  of  the  Sabbatarians  of  Russia 
proper,"  declares  Stepniak,  "  contain  nothing  Jewish.  On 
Saturdays  they  assemble  in  their  houses  of  prayer,  where 
their  elders  or  teachers  deliver  a  sermon,  which  is  interrupted 
from  time  to  time  by  the  sacred  songs  of  the  congregation. 
The  Sabbatarians  hold  these  meetings  in  great  secrecy,  and 
also,  as  a  rule,  conceal  their  affiliation  to  the  sect.  The 
criminal  code,  which  still  punishes  conversion  to  Judaism 
with  deportation  and  hard  labor,  and  the  easily  aroused 
aversion  of  the  surrounding  Christian  peasantry,  are  suf- 
ficient grounds  for  this.  A  lady  friend  of  mine,  a  Socialist, 
who  lived  among  the  Molokane  peasantry  for  the  sake  of 
propagandism,  was  once  invited  by  her  hostess,  a  Sabba- 
tarian, to  one  of  their  secret  meetings,  when  a  famous  wan- 
dering preacher  of  the  sect  was  expected  to  speak.  She 
was  instructed  not  to  speak  to  anybody,  and  not  to  answer 
any  questions.  On  entering  the  house  they  had  to  give  the 
pass-word. 

"  As  to  the  service,  it  was  very  unlike  that  of  the  Russian 
Jews.  The  small  congregation  was  seated  in  rows  on  wooden 
benches  on  one  side  of  the  room.  Opposite  there  was  an  open 
space,  on  which  stood  the  preacher,  in  silent  prayer,  clad  in 
a  sort  of  black  mantle,  with  an  open  Bible  before  him. 
When  all  were  assembled  and  the  doors  shut,  he  delivered  a 
prayer  animated  by  the  broad  Deistic  spirit  of  the  Jews,  and 
then  began  to  address  the  audience.  He  spoke  of  God,  the 


I  iJ 


soul,  penitence,  and  salvation  in  the  same  Unitarian  spirit, 
appealing  with  great  power  to  the  emotions  of  his  hearers. 
After  a  very  pathetic  allocution,  he  fell  to  the  ground,  as 
if  overwhelmed  by  the  vehemence  of  his  feelings. 

"The  Sabbatarian,  colony  in  the  Caucasus,  where  they 
were  deported  in  Nicholas  I's  time,  have  developed  into  a 
sect  much  more  nearly  allied  to  Judaism  than  that  of  their 
Russian  coreligionists.  They  accept  the  Talmud,  and  they 
expect  the  Messiah  in  the  guise  of  a  king  and  conqueror,  who 
is  to  appear  at  the  close  of  the  seven  thousandth  year,  dating 
from  the  creation  of  the  world  (Mosaic  style).  They  follow 
the  Jewish  ritual  in  the  marriage  ceremony  and  the  burial 
service,  and  permit  divorce  ;  and  they  use  the  Jewish  prayers 
in  a  Russian  translation. 

"  Among  the  Caucasian  Sabbatarians  we  meet  with  an- 
other curious  subdivision  of  the  sect  —  the  so-called  Herrs, 
who  are  as  completely  Judaised  as  is  possible  to  any  of  their 
nationality.  They  elect  a  born  Jew  as  rabbi,  and  they  pray 
in  the  Jewish  language,  which  they  try  to  learn.  The  num- 
ber of  these  Russian  moujiks  who  strive  for  the  sake  of  their 
creed  to  become  Jews  is  small  —  about  one  thousand  — 
one-fifth  of  the  whole  body  of  Sabbatarians.  None  of  the 
branches  of  this  sect  give  any  sign  of  great  vitality.  They 
do  not  increase,  and  they  have  no  influence  on  the  popular 
movements  among  the  masses.  They  are  shunned,  and  in 
their  turn  shun  the  people."  [Stepniak,  The  Russian  Peas- 
antry, 326-9.  New  York,  1888.] 

In  1806  Napoleon  assembled  in  Paris  the  "  Jewish  Parlia- 
ment "  which  raised  apprehension  among  the  sovereigns  of 
those  countries  which  had  cause  to  fear  the  machinations  of 
the  Emperor.  A  circular  from  the  Russian  Holy  Synod, 
sent  to  the  Greek  Orthodox  clergy,  declared  that  "  he  now 
planneth  to  unite  the  Jews,  whom  the  wrath  of  the  Almighty 
hath  scattered  over  the  face  of  the  whole  earth,  so  as  to 
incite  them  to  overthrow  the  Christian  Church  and  proclaim 
the  pseudo-Messiah  in  the  person  of  Napoleon."  "  By  these 
devices,"  says  Dubnow,  "  the  Government,  finding  itself  at 
its  wits'  end  in  the  face  of  a  great  war,  shrewdly  attempted 
to  frighten  at  once  the  Jewish  people  by  the  specter  of  an 


Ml  ivies  sians:  ^nnsiian  ana  rag  an 

anti-Jewish  Napoleon  and  the  Orthodox  Russians  by  Napo- 
leon's leaning  toward  Judaism.  The  former  were  made  to 
believe  that  the  Sanhedrian  was  directed  against  the  Jewish 
religion,  and  the  latter  were  told  that  it  was  established  by 
the  Jewish  '  pseudo-Messiah '  for  the  overthrow  of  Christi- 
anity." [Dubnow,  I,  348-9.] 

The  Fremdenblatt  of  August,  1872,  describes  a  Messiah 
who  appeared  in  Berlin  in  the  last  half  of  the  nineteenth 
century.  He  told  the  congregation  to  announce  that  the 
commemoration  day  of  the  fall  of  Jerusalem  was  no  longer 
to  be  observed,  for  the  King  of  Israel  had  come  and  was 
about  to  assume  the  throne  as  a  veritable  Messiah. 

At  about  the  same  time  another  Messiah  was  operating  in 
Yemen.  He  distinguished  himself  as  a  worker  of  miracles 
and  in  this  way  attracted  the  attention  of  the  Bedouins. 
They  were  blessed  with  an  increase  of  flocks.  His  reputa- 
tion spread  far  and  wide.  Later,  however,  misfortune  came 
upon  the  flocks  of  the  worshipping  Arabs,  whereupon  their 
allegiance  turned  to  opposition,  and  he  was  forced  to  flee  for 
his  life.  He  took  refuge  in  a  cave.  The  Arabs,  remember- 
ing that  he  was  a  Jew,  asserted  that  he  was  the  Messiah. 
His  Jewish  countrymen  expected  him  to  crush  the  Arabs  and 
lead  them  to  the  Holy  Land.  He  accepted  the  character  at- 
tributed to  him  by  his  followers,  receiving  many  presents  and 
living  in  princely  style  until  some  Arabs  waylaid  and  mur- 
dered him,  thus  proving  his  vulnerability  and  the  falsity  of 
his  claims.  Ari  Shocher,  as  he  was  called,  is  not  considered 
dead ;  he  appeared  in  another  form  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Sana,  proclaiming  that  at  a  later  time  he  would  reappear 
in  his  former  shape.  The  government  took  steps  to  seize 
this  reappearance,  which  immediately  disappeared  and  has 
not  been  seen  since. 

At  Nablous,  the  modern  Shechem,  at  the  foot  of  the  sacred 
mountain  Gerizim,  there  lives  a  sect  of  Samaritans,  small  and 
almost,f  orgotten,  among  whom  the  messianic  hope  still  burns 
with  undiminished  vigor.  Through  them  the  hope  of  gener- 
ation upon  generation  voices  the  expectation  of  a  Messiah 
still  to  come.  This  hope  they  base  on  Old  Testament  inter- 
pretation, but  largely  on  other  passages  than  those  used  by 


The  Messianic  Movement  in  Judaism  77 

Christians. 

They  posit  no  less  than  ten  "  proofs  "  of'  his  coming. 
Among  these  are  the  promise  given  to  Abraham ;  the  advices 
of  Jacob  to  his  sons;  the  miracles  performed  by  Moses;  a 
part  of  the  parable  of  Balaam :  "  A  star  shall  come  out  of 
Jacob  and  a  rod  shall  rise  out  of  Israel  " ;  the  disasters  that 
will  befall  the  enemies  of  Israel;  the  subsequent  purification 
and  rectification  of  the  nation. 

"  As  to  the  appearance  and  coming  of  the  lord  Christ, 
recorded  in  our  chronicles,"  says  Jacob,  Son  of  Aaron,  High 
Priest  of  the  Samaritans,  "  we  regard  its  validity  not  from 
the  viewpoint  of  our  law,  but  as  a  matter  of  history.  As  to 
the  Messiah,  with  whose  coming  we  are  promised,  there  are 
proofs  and  demonstrations  in  regard  to  his  coming.  As  our 
learned  men  have  explained  in  their  voluminous  commen- 
taries, he  will  rise  and  perform  miracles  and  demonstrations ; 
he  will  uphold  religion  and  justice.  Among  other  proofs  he 
will  produce  the  following  three : 

;<  1.  The  production  of  the  ark  of  testimony,  which  is  the 
greatest  attestation  of  Israel.  For  Deut.  xxxi.  19,  says: 
4  It  shall  be  there  for  thee  a  witness.' 

"  2.  He  will  produce  at  his  hand,  the  staff  which  was 
given  by  the  Creator  (who  is  exalted)  to  our  lord  Moses 
(upon  him  be  peace),  about  whose  attribute  a  reference  is 
made  as  follows :  '  And  this  shall  be  to  thee  as  a  sign,'  in 
order  that  miracles  be  performed  thereby. 

"  3.  He  must  produce  the  omer  of  manna  which  our  fa- 
thers ate,  while  in  the  wilderness,  for  forty  years.  This  is 
the  greatest  proof,  because,  after  all  this  period,  it  will  be 
found  not  to  have  undergone  the  slightest  change.  When 
our  ancestors,  in  the  days  when  manna  used  to  fall,  would 
keep  some  of  it  till  the  morrow,  it  would  become  rotten  and 
wormy.  Therefore,  it  would  be  a  proof  none  could  deny  if 
it  should  appear  after  this  long  interval,  and  remain  in  its 
sound  state.  Thus  the  people  of  the  second  kingdom  might 
see  it,  and  confess  reverently  and  increase  in  exalting  and 
glorifying  the  Creator  (who  is  exalted),  for  the  power  of 
producing  such  a  marvel. 

"  These  three  proofs  must  be  verified  by  the  Prophet ;  and 


78  Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

without  them  his  claim  would  be  considered  illegal.  No  mat- 
ter could  ever  be  sustained  unless  with  two  or  three  testi- 
monies, in  accordance  with  the  saying  of  the  holy  Law: 
'  Upon  the  testimony  of  two  or  three  witnesses  a  matter  is 
sustained.'  Without  such  proof  he  has  no  standing." 

"  There  is,"  says  the  High  Priest,  "  nothing  in  prophecy 
to  say  whether  he  will  be  of  the  priestly  line  or  not.  Some 
of  our  learned  men  say  he  will  come  from  the  children  of 
Aaron,  and  be  a  priest.  Others  say  that  he  will  be  of  the 
children  of  Joseph,  and  '  like  unto  his  brethren.'  My  own 
private  opinion  is  that  he  will  be  of  the  children  of  Joseph. 

"  The  Messiah  will  be  a  prophet,  and  wiU  be  acknowledged 
as  a  prophet.  That  will  be  his  title,  as  the  prophecies  give 
it.  But  he  will  also  be  a  king. 

"  The  Messiah  will  not  be  in  any  sense  a  Son  of  God.  He 
will  be  a  prophet  like  Moses  and  like  his  brethren,  as  is  told 
in  Deut.  xviii,  15-22. 

"  The  Messiah  will  be  a  prophet,  as  I  have  told  you,  and 
will  no  doubt  work  signs  to  prove  his  mission.  There  will 
be  unusual  signs  and  wonders.  But  he  is  to  be  a  king  and 
rule  the  earth  from  Shechem,  the  ancient  seat  of  power,  and 
from  his  holy  mountain,  Gerizim.  He  will  call  all  the  world 
to  acknowledge  him,  and  they  will  do  so.  He  will  bring 
blessings  to  all  nations  that  acknowledge  him."  \Tlie  Messi- 
anic Hope  of  the  Samaritans.  By  Jacob,  Son  of  Aaron, 
High  Priest  of  the  Samaritans.  Translated  from  the  Arabic 
by  Abdullah  Ben  Kori.  Edited  with  an  introduction  by  Wil- 
liam Eleazar  Barton.  Reprinted  from  the  Open  Court, 
May  and  September,  1907.] 

Thus  in  the  remotest  parts  of  Judaism  the  messianic  faith 
still  flourishes.  Even  the  isolated  and  almost  submerged 
community  of  Falashas,  the  so-called  Jews  of  Abyssinia, 
vaguely  expect  the  Messiah  and  look  forward  to  the  re- 
building of  Jerusalem.  [Agaos,  in  Hastings'  E.R.E.,  I, 
165.] 

There  are  many  distant  echoes  of  the  Eighteen  Benedic- 
tions of  the  Targum,  that  Aramaic  paraphrase  of  the  Old 
Testament,  used  in  the  synagogues  of  Palestine  and  Baby- 
lonia, containing  prayers  for  the  rebuilding  of  Jerusalem 


The  Messianic  Movement  in  Judaism  79 

and  for  the  near  advent  of  the  Messiah  and  the  Resurrection. 
[Judaism,  in  Hastings'  E.R.E.,  VII,  596.] 

The  Conditions  that  have  Fostered  Jewish  Messianic  Faith 

How  shall  we  explain  this  constant  recurrence  of  the  mes- 
sianic idea  in  Jewish  history  ?  Its  ultimate  explanation  will, 
of  course,  not  be  forthcoming.  Yet  it  is  germane  to  point 
out  that  Israel  is  otherwise  peculiar.  No  other  people  have 
shown  such  racial  and  religious  persistence  under  the  severest 
trials  of  poverty,  dissemination  and  social  contempt.  No 
other  people  has  shown  such  persistent  and  out-vying  faith 
in  its  destiny,  no  other  such  unwavering  fidelity  to  religious 
law.  The  messianic  peculiarity  is  not  unrelated  to  these 
other  peculiarities,  but  rather  a  counterpart,  their  supple- 
ment and  directly  dependent  upon  them.  "  If  in  physiologi- 
cal experiments  we  cut  the  connection  between  brain  and 
heart,  we  have  to  arrange  for  artificial  breathing  or  the 
functions  of  life  cease ;  this  the  priestly  founders  of  religion 
did  by  the  introduction  of  the  Messianic  kingdom  of  the 
future."  [H.  S.  Chamberlain,  Foundations  of  the  Nine- 
teenth Century,  I,  477-88.  1913.] 

Israel  seems,  both  unitedly  and  severally,  to  have  realized 
the  importance  of  this  hope.  "  The  magnificent  picture  of 
the  future  kingdom,  the  glorious  position  of  Israel,  the  venge- 
ance the  Messiah  would  wreak  upon  all  Israel's  enemies,  and 
the  vision  of  the  restored  Jerusalem  and  the  rebuilt  Temple, 
were  a  constant  consolation  to  the  oppressed  and  downtrod- 
den Israelites.  They  fondled  the  hope  with  intense  affection, 
the  mother  sang  it  to  her  babe,  the  father  on  all  occasions 
related  it  to  his  household,  the  teacher  impressed  it  upon  the 
minds  and  hearts  of  his  pupils  —  all  were  invigorated  by  the 
assurance  to  suffer  and  hope,  to  withstand  the  onslaughts  of 
the  enemy,  and  remain  faithful  to  their  religion.  The  feel- 
ing of  the  ancient  Jew  towards  his  persecutor  was  not  so 
much  one  of  hatred  and  revenge  as  of  sneering  pity." 
[Greenstone,  112-S.] 

It  is  still  true  that,  "  die  messianische  Idee  betrifft  einem 
der  Zentralen  der  jiidische  Lehre."  [I.  Elbogen,  in  Judaica 


80  Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

(Berlin,  1912).]  In  his  Dreamers  of  the  Ghetto  Israel 
Zangwill  has  shown  us  the  pathetic  tragedy  of  a  dream  still 
stirring  at  the  heart  of  the  mummied  race,  of  a  fire  quenched 
two  thousand  years  ago  still  slumbering  in  the  ashes,  flaming 
out  here  and  there  in  fitful,  hopeless,  and  apparently  endless 
attempts  to  enkindle  the  hearts  of  the  faithful  with  new  mes- 
sianic faith.  Prayers  for  the  coming  of  a  personal  Messiah 
have  in  recent  years  been  abolished  or  modified  by  liberal 
Jews  and  the  messianic  hope  interpreted  as  the  spiritual  re- 
generation of  the  Jews.  [Philipson,  Reform  Movement  m 
Judaism,  45,  105,  113,  175,  470.  Israel  Cohen,  Jewish  Life 
in  Modern  Times,  278,  286-7.  New  York,  1914.]  Put,  al- 
though Reformed  Judaism  has  relinquished  hope  of  the  per- 
sonal Messiah,  Rabbinical  Judaism  still  holds  fast  to  this 
hope.  [Ib.,  8, 115, 117, 163, 168, 181,  246ff.,  328,  331,  470, 
472,  492.]  Many  Reformed  Jews  who  have  surrendered  this 
belief  have  given  it  up  reluctantly,  and  often  only  half- 
heartedly, reinterpreting  it  in  terms  of  national  or  religious 
regeneration.  Thus,  one  of  these  eminent  Jews,  Morris 
Joseph,  who  discountenances  the  messianic  belief,  assures  us 
that  "  even  the  word  '  Messiah '  as  used  in  the  Hebrew  Bible, 
has  not  that  half-supernatural  significance  which  it  has  come 
to  possess.  It  means  only  the  '  anointed  one,'  and  was  ap- 
plied to  ordinary  Israelitish  kings  like  Saul  and  David  and 
Zedekiah,  and  even  to  a  foreign  potentate  like  Cyrus.  In  like 
manner  passages  which,  according  to  some  interpreters, 
speak  of  a  Golden  Age  yet  to  come,  were  meant  only  to  por- 
tray in  highly  figurative  language  a  happy  state  of  things 
that  was  inaugurated  and  came  to  an  end  long  ago."  But 
the  renunciation  is  much  tempered  by  a  hasty  assurance 
that,  "  it  does  not  necessarily  follow,  however,  that  the  be- 
lief in  a  Messiah  or  in  the  Restoration  of  the  Jewish  State  is 
a  delusion.  .  .  .  Among  oppressed  Jewish  communities,  such 
as  those  of  Russia  and  the  East,  the  belief  in  the  national 
revival  of  Israel  is  a  powerful  solace  and  support  under 
galling  persecutions.  Who  would  wilfully  seal  up  the  springs 
of  so  much  blessing?  Who  would  dare  to  tell  these  compa- 
nies of  sorrowing,  trusting  souls  that  heir  hope  is  vain,  their 
faith  a  chimera?  No  one  can  say  what  the  future  has  in 


The  Messianic  Movement  in  Judaism  81 

store  for  us.  It  may  possibly  be  God's  will  that  Israel  is 
once  more  to  enjoy  political  independence,  and  be  settled  in 
his  own  land  under  his  own  rulers.  Nay,  it  would  be  rash 
to  declare  positively  that  even  the  prophets  could  not  have 
had  this  far-off  event  in  their  minds  when  they  dreamt  of  the 
future.  If,  then,  we  meet  with  Jews  who  believe  in  the  Re- 
turn, in  national  revival,  in  a  personal  Messiah,  let  no  one 
venture  to  say  dogmatically  that  they  are  wrong."  [Juda- 
ism m  Creed  and  Life,  169-70  (London,  1903)  ;  Robertson, 
The  Early  Religion  of  Israel  (New  York,  2nd  ed.,  1892), 
116,  499,  also  seem  to  admit  that  the  earliest  messianic  ex- 
pectation referred  rather  vaguely  merely  to  the  "  day  of 
Jahaveh  "  (Amos  v,  18-20),  and  "  a  good  time  coming."] 
As  another  liberal  Jew  has  phrased  it,  "  Liberal  Judaism  has 
always  tended  to  a  firm  grasp  of  Messianism,  in  the  form  of 
a  belief  in  the  perfectibility  of  human  nature,  of  a  steady 
advance  toward  that  end,  and  of  the  ultimate  conversion  of 
the  world  to  monotheism,  and  the  establishment  of  the  uni- 
versal Kingdom  of  God."  [Liberal  Judaism,  by  I.  Abraham, 
in  Hastings'  E.R.E.,  VII,  901,  and  Judaism,  Ib.,  esp.  p.  608. 
Israel,  Ib.,  456.] 

There  can  be  little  doubt  that  since  its  earliest  promulga- 
tion the  messianic  hope  has  been  shot  through  with  political 
aspirations.  This  political-social  stimulus  has  been  a  thread 
of  continuity  from  the  inception  of  messianic  faith  to  its  very 
latest  manifestations.  [W.  Staerk,  Neutestamentliche  Zeit- 
geschichte,  II,  85ff.  G.  F.  Abbott,  Israel  in  Europe,  Ch.  24 
et  passim.  Paul  Carus,  The  Pleroma:  An  Essay  on  the  Ori- 
gin of  Christianity,  21,  43,  61  (1909).  Geo.  P.  Fisher,  The 
Beginnings  of  Christianity  with  a  View  of  the  State  of  the 
Roman  World  at  the  Birth  of  Christ,  8-10,  228,  248-57,  26, 
370-5,  416-20.  New  York,  1911.  Carl  Clemens,  Primitive 
Christianity  and  Its  Non- Jewish  Sources,  190-99,  232,  294, 
298,  300-17,  346,  363-8,  139^-59,  337-40,  292,  166,  243, 
173.  Edinburgh,  1912  (translated  by  R.  G.  Nisbet).  His- 
tory of  All  Nations  Series,  II,  225.] 

The  Jewish  Messiah  has  been,  throughout,  the  product  of 
oppression  and  the  apostle  of  hope.  As  Jehudah  Halevi 
sings,  in  his  Song  of  the  Oppressed: 


82  Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

Men  have  despised  me,  knowing  not  that  shame 

For  Thy  Name's  glory  is  my  glorious  pride, 
Wounded  and  crushed,  beneath  my  load  I  sigh, 
Despised  and  abject,  outcast,  trampled  low, 
How  long,  O  Lord,  shall  I  of  violence  cry  ? 

My  heart  dissolve  with  woe? 
How  many  tears  without  a  gleam  of  light, 

Has  thraldom  been  our  lot,  our  portion  pain! 
With  Ishmael  as  a  lion  in  his  might, 

And  Persia  as  an  owl  of  darksome  night, 
Beset  on  either  side,  behold  our  plight 

Betwixt  the  twain. 
Wherefore  wilt  Thou  forget  us,  Lord,  for  aye? 

Mercy  we  crave! 
O  Lord,  we  hope  in  Thee  alway, 
Our  King  will  save! 

Is  this  Thy  voice? 
The  voice  of  captive  Ariel's  woe  unhealed? 

Virgin  of  Israel,  arise,  rejoice! 
In  Daniel's  vision,  lo,  the  end  is  sealed: 

When  Michael  on  the  height 

Shall  stand  aloft  in  strength, 

And  shout  aloud  in  might, 
And  a  Redeemer  come  to  Zion  at  length. 

Amen,  amen,  behold 

The  Lord's  decree  foretold 
E'en  as  Thou  hast  our  souls  afflicted  sore, 
So  wilt  Thou  make  us  glad  forevermore! 

Wherefore  wilt  Thou  forget  us,  Lord,  for  aye? 

Mercy  we  crave ! 
O  Lord,  we  hope  in  Thee  alway, 

Our  King  will  save ! 

[Solomon  Ibu  Gabiral's  Song  of  Redemption;  a  poet,  gram- 
marian and  philosopher,  born  in  Spain  in  1021.  Translated 
by  Nina  Davis,  Songs  of  Exile  by  Hebrew  Poets.  Philadel- 
phia, 1901.] 

Both  Isaiah  and  the  author  of  Micah  bad  given  reason 
to  expect  that  the  Messianic  era  would  be  inaugurated  imme- 


The  Messianic  Movement  in  Judaism  83 

diately  after  the  deliverance  of  Jerusalem  (in  701  B.  c.) 
and  that  it  would  herald  the  overthrow  of  the  power  of 
Assyria.  [C.  F.  Kent,  Hist,  of  Hebrew  People,  N.  Y.,  1914, 
153-9.  Kent  is  echoing  the  thought  J.  Wellhausen,  History 
of  Israel,  p.  414ff.,  Edinburgh,  1885.]  In  the  phrase  of 
Wellhausen,  the  Prophet  sat  close  to  the  helm  of  the  vessel 
of  state  and  took  a  very  real  part  in  directing  the  course  of 
that  vessel.  \_Hist.  of  Israel  and  Judah,  108ff.  London, 
1891.  The  same  view  is  expressed  by  H.  H.  Milman,  Hist, 
of  the  Jews,  I,  417,  469.  New  York,  1875.] 

It  is  certainly  fruitless  to  deny  the  persistence,  even  to 
the  present,  of  this  messianic  hope  in  Judaism.  The  false 
messiahs  that  have  appeared  from  time  to  time  —  and  at  no 
long  interval  —  through  the  centuries  after  Christ  seem 
rather  to  have  kept  alive  this  belief  than  to  have  submerged 
it  in  that  discredit  into  which,  to  an  outsider,  they  might 
seem  to  have  brought  it.  "  The  disappointment  in  each  par- 
ticular case  might  break  the  spirit  and  confound  the  faith  of 
the  immediate  followers  of  the  pretender,  but  it  kept  the 
whole  nation  incessantly  on  the  watch.  The  Messiah  was 
ever  present  to  the  thoughts  and  to  the  visions  of  the  Jews : 
their  prosperity  seemed  the  harbinger  of  his  coming;  their 
darkest  calamities  gathered  around  them  only  to  display, 
with  the  force  of  a  stronger  contrast,  the  mercy  of  their 
God  and  the  glory  of  their  Redeemer.  In  vain  the  Rab- 
binical interdict  repressed  the  dangerous  curiosity  which, 
still  baffled,  would  seek  to  penetrate  the  secrets  of  futurity. 
'  Cursed  is  he  who  calculates  the  time  of  the  Messiah's  com- 
ing,' was  constantly  repeated  in  the  synagogue,  but  as  con- 
stantly disregarded.  That  chord  in  the  national  feeling  was 
never  struck  but  it  seemed  to  vibrate  through  the  whole  com- 
munity." [H.  H.  Milman,  op.  cit.,  Ill,  366.] 

Without  some  such  hope  of  national  revival  what  hope  is 
there  for  a  dispersed  race?  [See  on  this  point,  G.  F.  Ab- 
bott, Israel  in  Europe,  XIX,  39,  85,  89,  212-13.]  Through 
the  centuries,  and  especially  in  the  Ghetto,  "  The  Feast  of 
Tabernacles  year  after  year  rekindled  their  gratitude  for  the 
miraculous  preservation  in  the  wilderness.  The  Feast  of 
Dedication  reminded  them  of  their  deliverance  from  the 


84  Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

Hellenic  yoke.  On  the  Passover  Eve  was  read  the  Seder, 
most  ancient  of  house  services,  and  round  the  festive  board 
were  then  gathered  the  shades  of  gifted  men  of  old  who  had 
sung  the  glories  of  Israel,  and  of  the  brave  men  who  had 
suffered  for  the  faith  of  Israel.  Then  was  retold  for  the 
thousandth  time,  with  tears  and  with  laughter,  to  the  accom- 
paniment of  song  and  wine,  the  tale  of  their  ancestors'  de- 
parture from  Egypt.  At  the  end  of  the  meal  the  door  was 
opened  and  a  wine  cup  was  left  upon  the  table.  This  was 
done  for  the  reception  of  Elijah,  the  harbinger  of  the  ex- 
pected Messiah.  In  this  and  like  domestic  rites  the  memory 
of  the  past  was  annually  revived,  and,  if  its  splendor  made 
the  sordid  present  look  more  sordid  still,  it  also  kept  alive 
the  hope  of  redemption.  The  magic  carpet  of  faith,  that 
priceless  heirloom  of  Israel,  transported  the  inmates  of  the 
Ghetto  out  of  their  noisome  surroundings  far  away  to  the 
radiant  realms  of  Zion."  The  Messianic  Utopia  never  was 
more  real  to  the  Jews  than  at  the  periods  of  greatest  oppres- 
sion such  as  we  find,  for  example,  in  the  seventeenth  century. 
During  these  troublous  years,  "  from  a  favourite  dream  it 
grew  into  a  permanent  desire.  It  was  firmly  held  that  the 
Redeemer  would  soon  come  in  His  glory  and  might;  would 
gather  His  people  from  the  four  corners  of  the  earth,  would 
slay  their  foes,  would  restore  the  Temple  of  Jerusalem,  and 
would  compel  the  nations  to  acknowledge  the  Majesty  of 
the  God  of  the  Jews."  [See  the  chapters  on  the  Ghetto  and 
on  Zionism  in  G.  F.  Abbott,  Israel  in  Europe.  Baskerville, 
The  Polish  Jew,  253.  New  York,  1906.  Leroy-Beaulieu, 
Israel  Among  the  Nations,  70,  203^4,  293-9,  370.  The 
political  forces  inherent  in  new  religions  or  religious  move- 
ments has  been  recognized  by  B.  K.  Sarkar,  in  his  Science  of 
History  and  Hope  of  Mankind.  London,  1912.] 

The  messianic  ideal,  like  a  pillar  of  fire,  has  guided  the 
Jews  through  the  long  nights  of  despair,  and,  like  a  veritable 
will-o'-the-wisp,  has  faded  with  the  dawn  of  better  times,  and 
vanished  in  the  garish  light  of  freedom  and  prosperity.  Yet 
still  the  stream  of  these  messianic  aspirations  flows  on,  hid- 
den in  prosperity,  coming  to  the  surface  in  times  of  oppres- 
sion, with  a  continuity  that  has  remained  unbroken  from  the 


The  Messianic  Movement  m  Judaism  85 

time  of  Jeremiah  unto  the  present  day.  The  average  Jewish 
lad  in  Russia  looks  forward  to  the  coming  of  the  Messiah  as 
confidently  as  he  anticipates  the  return  of  the  father  to  the 
household.  Even  in  America,  the  orthodox  Jew  still  antici- 
pates this  personal  Messiah.  During  the  Passover  cele- 
bration held  in  every  Jewish  household,  the  door,  at  a  certain 
part  of  the  ritual,  is  thrown  open  that  the  Messiah,  if  he 
be  at  the  threshold,  may  enter  and  not  be  kept  waiting,  and 
a  glass  of  wine  is  placed  aside  for  Elijah,  the  forerunner 
of  the  Messiah.  [Israel  Cohen,  op.  cit.,  67.]  In  the  weekly 
prayers  at  the  Synagogue  his  coming  and  protection  is  de- 
voutly besought.  The  Haggadic  Midrashim  closes  with 
verses  of  encouragement,  prophesying  the  redemption  of 
Israel  and  the  advent  of  the  Messianic  era,  while  the  twelfth 
article  of  the  present  Jewish  creed,  as  drawn  up  by  Maimoni- 
des,  states :  "  I  believe  with  perfect  faith  in  the  coming  of 
the  Messiah,  and  though  he  tarry  I  will  wait  for  his  coming." 
The  ancient  Jewish  community  in  Kai-Fung-Fu,  China, 
finally  fell  into  such  religious  destitution  and  decay  that  even 
the  expectation  of  a  Messiah  seems  to  have  been  entirely  lost. 
But  this  was  when  no  member  of  the  community  could  read 
its  scrolls,  and  only  one  of  them,  a  woman  of  more  than 
seventy  years,  had  any  recollection  of  the  tenets  of  their 
faith.  [Cf.  the  article  by  David  Kaufmann  in  the  Jewish 
Quarterly  Review,  Vol.  10;  articles  on  Messiah,  in  J.  Ham- 
burger's Real-Encyclopddie  fur  Bibel  und  Talmud,  Abteil., 
I,  745-50,  II,  735-79.  Leipzig,  1883;  Ib.,  Supplem.,  II,  75- 
93.  Leipzig,  1891.  B.  F.  Wescott,  An  Introduction  to  the 
Study  of  the  Gospels,  92-164.  London,  1881.  Paul  Wend- 
land,  Die  HeUenistisch-Romische  Kultur.  Tubingen,  1907 ; 
Ib.,  Die  Urchristlichen  Literaturformen.  Tubingen,  1912. 
Die  Religion  in  Geschichte  und  Gegenwart,  art.  Messias,  Vol. 
IV.  Tubingen,  1913.  W.  Baldensperger,  Die  Messianisch- 
Apokalyptischen  Hoffnungen  des  Judentums.  Strassburg, 
1903.  Dalman,  The  Words  of  Jesus,  234^324.  A.  Haus- 
rath,  A  History  of  the  New  Testament  Times,  I,  191-204. 
London,  1878.  The  New  Schaff-Herzog  Encyclopaedia  of 
Religious  Knowledge,  VII,  323-9.  Ocuvres  dwerses  de  Mr. 
Pierre  Bayle.  By  La  Haye,  I,  156.  Amsterdam,  1727. 


86  Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

Midrash  and  Midrashic  Literature  in  Hastings'  E.R.E., 
VIII,  626.  China  (Jews  in),  Ib.,  Ill,  558.  Ages  of  the 
World  (Jewish,  Christian,  Greek,  and  Roman),  Ib.,  I,  190- 
205.  Judaism,  Ib.,  VII,  595.] 

The  Talmud  has  done  much  to  keep  alive  this  faith  in 
Judaism  by  constant  reference  to  the  Messiah  and  by  pic- 
turing the  conditions  that  betokened  his  coming : 

"  The  generation  that  will  bring  the  Messiah  will  consist 
of  but  few  learned  men.  As  to  those  few,  their  eyes  will 
waste  because  of  their  grief  and  sighing  over  the  many  sor- 
rows that  will  overtake  them.  There  will  be  new  mandares 
daily  pregnant  with  evil ;  before  the  effects  of  the  one  have 
gone,  another  will  come.  The  seven  years  preceding  the 
Messiah's  coming  will  be  marked  by  great  untoward  events, 
and  at  the  end  of  the  seventh  year  Messiah  will  make  his 
appearance.  Although  the  untoward  events  have  happened 
before  and  Messiah  did  not  come,  it  must  be  remembered 
that  they  have  not  yet  happened  in  the  order  and  in  the 
succession  described.  Again,  at  his  coming  the  very  schools 
where  the  Torah  was  taught  will  become  houses  of  ill  fame, 
the  large  cities  will  become  desolate,  and  those  who  taught 
others  religion  will  themselves  become  notorious  sinners. 
The  dwellers  of  Palestine  will  become  fugitives,  will  wander 
from  place  to  place  without  exciting  pity.  Men  of  learning1 
and  piety  will  be  despised:  men  of  distinction  will  be  looked 
upon  as  dogs,  and  there  will  be  a  total  absence  of  truth. 
The  young  will  abuse  the  old  and  the  grey-headed  will  rise 
for  the  young,  and  give  them  every  honor.  The  daughter 
will  rise  against  her  own  mother  and  the  son  will  be  shame- 
less in  the  presence  of  his  father.  Even  those  known  as  the 
most  honoured  and  the  most  honourable  will  be  full  of  duplic- 
ity. Whilst  there  will  be  abundant  wine  harvests,  there  will 
be  a  very  great  rise  in  the  price  of  wine  owing  to  the  huge 
consumption,  as  drinking  will  go  on  to  an  alarming  extent. 
Scepticism  will  be  the  order  of  the  day  and  there  will  be  no 
rebuking  of  the  evil-doer.  And  when  all  will  be  afflicted  with 
the  leprosy  of  sin,  then  Messiah  will  appear.  Even  as  with 
the  leper  when  his  leprosy  had  covered  all  his  flesh,  the  Priest 
pronounced  him  clean. 


The  Messianic  Movement  in  Judaism  87 

"  There  is  yet  another  period  fixed  for  the  coming  of  Mes- 
siah :  when  we  Jews  will  be  quite  helpless ;  when  many  will 
slander  us  and  denounce  us  to  the  powers  that  be  and  we 
will  be  in  abject  poverty.  Or  again,  when  all  hope  of  Mes- 
siah's appearance  will  be  quite  abandoned,  when  all  hope  will 
seem  to  be  gone  for  ever,  then  Messiah  will  put  in  an  ap- 
pearance. And  amongst  the  varied  opinions,  one  is  that  this 
world  was  to  last  six  thousand  years,  divided  into  three 
series  of  two  thousand  years  each,  during  the  last  series  of 
which  Messiah  was  to  come.  Another  opinion  has  it,  that  it 
would  be  idle  to  hope  for  the  arrival  of  Messiah  before  eighty- 
five  jubilees  have  passed  over  the  world.  R.  Samuel  b. 
Nachmina  is  inclined  to  censure  those  who  fix  a  time  for 
Messiah's  appearance,  inasmuch  as  if  he  does  not  arrive  at 
the  time  fixed,  the  hope  deferred  may  destroy  the  faith  in  his 
coming  at  all,  and  that  would  be  a  grievous  sin,  as  it  is  our 
duty  to  believe  in  his  coming  and  patiently  await  his  arrival. 
Yet  another  opinion  exists,  that  there  is  no  fixed  time  for  the 
coming  of  Messiah,  since  it  entirely  depends  on  Israel's  re- 
pentance." [Senhedrin,  97,  11  and  98.  See  S.  Rapaport, 
Tales  and  Maxims  from  the  Talmud,  New  York,  1910.  S. 
Schechter,  Some  Aspects  of  Rabbinic  Theology,  passim,  New 
York,  1910.] 

"  May  he  establish  his  Kingdom  in  your  days  "  is  the 
prayer  of  the  Qaddish ;  while  in  the  Sabbath  Morning  Service 
many  a  Jewish  heart  echoes  the  words :  "  There  is  none  to 
be  compared  unto  thee,  O  Lord  our  God,  in  this  world,  neither 
is  there  any  beside  thee,  O  our  King,  for  the  life  of  the  world 
to  come;  there  is  none  but  thee,  O  our  Redeemer,  for  the 
days  of  the  Messiah." 

Hopeless,  then,  of  man's  assistance,  we  have  searched  the  proph- 
ets o'er, 
Seeking  promise  in  the  judgments  which  our  fathers  writ  of  yore. 

This  has  been  the  practical  answer  to  the  question  of  the 
Hasidim,  or  Law,  "  Why  standeth  thou  so  far  off,  O  Jah- 
weh?" 

[The  lines  quoted  are  not  Jewish  but  are  taken  from  a 
Moorish  ballad  of  1568,  written  for  the  comfort  of  the 


88  Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

Moriscos  prior  to  the  Rebellion  of  Granada.  H.  C.  Lea, 
The  Moriscos  of  Spam,  434-7.  Philadelphia,  1901.] 

"  Cooped  up  as  the  Jews  were  in  former  ages  in  Ghettos, 
isolated  from  the  rest  of  the  population  not  only  locally  and 
socially,  but  also  economically  and  intellectually,  they  led 
a  life  of  their  own,  self-contained  if  not  always  self-con- 
tented, in  which  they  cultivated  their  traditional  ideals  and 
customs  and  fostered  and  developed  their  cultural  posses- 
sions. Although  they  had  no  land  of  their  own  they  made 
of  their  Ghetto  a  little  Zion,  pending  the  call  of  the  Messiah 
whom  they  were  willing  at  any  moment  to  follow  to  the  his- 
toric Zion;  although  they  no  longer  dwelt  on  the  banks  of 
the  Jordan  or  at  the  foot  of  Mount  Carmel  their  lives  were 
colored  by  customs  and  visions  of  the  Holy  Land,  and  all 
their  sufferings  were  soothed  by  the  thought  that  they  would 
one  day  be  gathered  again  to  the  land  of  their  ancestors. 
Living  as  they  did  in  the  midst  of  all  nations,  and  exposed 
on  every  side  to  obloquy  and  hostility,  they  nevertheless  had 
the  surest  guarantee  of  survival,  for  they  lived  a  life  of  their 
own  and  were  sustained  by  the  hope  of  a  national  restora- 
tion." [Israel  Cohen,  Jewish  Life  m  Modern  Times, 
310-11.] 

"  None  of  the  Messiahs,"  declares  Schindler,  "  ever  im- 
proved the  state  of  affairs ;  on  the  contrary,  they  all  left  the 
nation  in  still  greater  misery  than  they  had  found  it.  This, 
too,  is  a  cause  why  so  very  little  is  known  of  any  of  them. 
Had  they  lived  in  times  of  prosperity,  when  their  actions 
could  have  been  judged  in  calmness ;  had  they  been  able  to 
improve  the  condition  of  their  friends,  morally  or  materially, 
we  should  have  heard  much  more  of  them.  But  the  hard- 
ships of  their  times  were  so  great  that  nobody  thought  of 
fixing  dates  or  of  establishing  a  historical  fame  for  them." 
[Messianic  Expectations,  155.] 

It  was  a  wise  forethought  on  the  part  of  Maimonides 
when,  after  inserting,  in  the  creed  still  followed  by  orthodox 
Judaism,  a  plank  in  favor  of  the  messianic  expectations,  he 
added  a  warning  against  giving  such  aspirations  a  practi- 
cal turn.  This  warning,  as  we  have  amply  demonstrated, 
has  been  little  heeded,  but,  on  the  contrary,  has  been  honored 


The  Messianic  Movement  in  Judaism  89 

in  the  breach.  Schindler  goes  beyond  the  facts  when  he 
insists  "  that  the  idea  of  the  advent  of  a  Messiah  has  died  of 
late ;  is  stone  dead  now,  and  ought  to  be  buried  by  the  side 
of  similar  defunct  ideas,  in  spite  of  all  opposition  which  may 
be  raised  against  its  final  interment  " ;  and  that  "  there  is  not 
one  among  us  who  expects  the  advent  of  a  Messiah."  [Solo- 
mon Schindler,  Messianic  Expectations  and  Modern  Judaism, 
4-5,  86.  Boston,  18'86.] 

Even  the  social  obligation  to  marry  was  strengthened  in 
Israel  by  the  belief  that  the  Messiah  would  not  come  until  all 
souls  stored  up  for  the  earthly  life  had  been  born,  nor  has 
this  motive  entirely  disappeared  in  orthodox  Judaism.  [I. 
Abrahams,  in  art.  Marriage,  in  Hastings'  Ency.  Rel.  and 
Ethics,  VIII,  460.] 


CHAPTER  II 

THE    MAHDI:    THE    MESSIAH    OF    MOHAMMEDANISM 

MOHAMMEDANISM  awaits  a  Mahdi,  or  "  Director  " 
who  is  now  somewhere  concealed  and  will  some  day  re- 
appear. Upon  his  reappearance,  in  true  messianic  fashion, 
injustice  will  disappear,  a  millennium  of  happiness  will  be 
ushered  in,  and  the  law  will  be  restored.  Whether  or  not 
this  Mahdi  belief  was  borrowed  by  the  Mohammedans  from 
the  Jews,  and,  in  fact,  paved  the  way  to  the  acceptance  of 
Mohammed  himself  as  well  as  of  later  Mahdi,  as  seems  prob- 
able, it  shows  a  marked  resemblance  to  the  Jewish  messi- 
anic hope.  [Sell,  Essays  on  Islam,  50.  Wherry,  Commen- 
tary on  the  Koran,  I,  139-5.  Margoliouth,  Early  Develop- 
ment of  Mohammedanism  (London,  1914),  18.  MacDonald, 
Muslim  Theology,  Jurisprudence,  and  Constitutional  Theory, 
27,  114  (New  York,  1903).  Hughes'  Dictionary  of  Islam, 
304,  540,  574  (1885).  W.  Muir,  Life  of  Mahomet,  112-3, 
152.  Art.,  "  Mahdi,"  in  Ency.  Britt.  (llth  ed.)  ;  in  Hast- 
ings' Ency.  of  Religion,  and  Ethics ;  The  New  International 
Ency.  Assassins,  in  Hastings'  E.R.E.,  II ;  Incarnation, 
(Introductory)  (Muslim),  Ib.,  VII,  183-4,  197-8.  A.  Gil- 
man,  The  Saracens,  50,  100,  266,  311-2,  414  (1908).  E.  C. 
Sykes,  Persia  and  Its  People,  134,  141.  Mcaken,  The 
Moors,  351.  London,  1902.  J.  W.  Buel,  Heroes  of  the  Dark 
Continent,  330-50.  San  Francisco,  1890'.  M.  F.  Von  Op- 
penheim,  Von  Mittelmeer  zum  Persichen  Golf,  I,  121-2.  Ber- 
lin, 1899.  A.  J.  B.  Wavell,  A  Modern  Pilgrim  in  Mecca,  24. 
London,  1913.  Ameer  Ali  Syed,  A  Short  History  of  the 
Saracens,  295.  London,  1900.  H.  C.  Lukach,  Tlw  Fringe 
of  the  East,  211-2,  264.  London,  1913.  Art.  on  Islam,  in 
Die  Religion  in  Geschichte  und  Gegenwart,  III.  Tubingen, 
1912,  B.  Meakin,  Moorish  Empire,  68.  Paul  Carus,  The 
Pleroma,  An  Essay  on  the  Origin  of  Christianity,  111,  1909. 

90 


The  Mahdi:  The  Messiah  of  Mohammedanism        91 

H.  S.  Jarrett,  History  of  the  Caliphs,  p.  5.  Calcutta,  1881. 
William  Muir,  The  Caliphate,  557-63.  Edinburgh,  1915. 
Napier  Malcolm,  Five  Years  in  a  Persian  Town,  73-5.  New 
York,  1907.  Ella  C.  Sykes,  Persia  and  Its  People,  134,  14?1. 
London,  1910.  P.  M.  Sykes,  Ten  Thousand  Miles  in  Persia 
or  Eight  Years  in  Iran,  192.  New  York,  1902.  The  true 
Imam  is  hidden  away  to  be  revealed  by  the  Lord  later.  J.  B. 
Pratt,  India  and  Its  Faiths,  310.  Ghair  Mahdi,  Hastings' 
E.R.E.,  VI,  189.  The  Shias  believe  he  will  conquer  all  re- 
ligions and  take  vengeance  on  the  wicked.  V.  Piquet,  Les 
Civilisations  de  VAfrique  du  Nord,  74-6.]  Mohammed  car- 
ried his  religion  to  a  people  already  expecting  a  Mahdi  and 
confident  of  his  arrival.  Here,  too,  disasters  precede  the 
dawn  of  better  times.1 

It  has  been  asserted  —  and  denied  —  that  Waraka,  an 
Arab  acquainted  with  Hebrew,  and  later  a  Christian  convert, 
a  contemporary  of  Mohammed,  had  entertained  the  persua- 
sion that  some  messenger  from  heaven,  a  Mahdi,  was  about 
to  come  into  the  world.  Some  scholars  believe  this  expec- 
tation of  a  Messiah  or  Mahdi  was  entertained  by  the  Arabs 
of  Medina  as  early  as  A.  D.  621,  thus  insuring  a  favorable 
reception  of  Mohammed's  mission.  His  followers  could  not 
believe  him  dead,  but  awaited  his  return,  and,  until  rebuked 
by  Mohammed's  father-in-law,  were  ready  to  worship  him 
as  a  god.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  soil  was  prepared 
for  the  sowing  of  the  seeds  of  the  messianic  faith.  [Hutton 
Webster,  Early  European  History,  372.  New  York,  1917. 
A.  Oilman,  The  Story  of  the  Saracens,  50-1,  63,  100.] 

A  work  written  at  Mecca  in  1883,  by  a  Sherif  of  that  city, 
bearing  the  title,  The  Conquests  of  Islam,  gives  the  following 
means  of  identifying  the  true  Mahdi: 

i  According  to  Mohammedan  belief,  and  as  a  result  of  Judeo-Christian 
influence,  Antichrist  will  overrun  the  earth  mounted  on  an  ass,  and  fol- 
lowed by  40,000  Jews.  "  His  empire  will  last  forty  days,  whereof  the 
first  day  will  be  a  year  long,  the  duration  of  the  second  will  be  a  month, 
that  of 'the  third  a  week,  the  others  being  of  their  usual  length.  He  will 
devastate  the  whole  world,  leaving  Mecca  and  Medina  alone  in  security, 
as  these  holy  cities  will  be  guarded  by  angelic  legions.  Christ  at  last 
will  descend  to  earth,  and  in  a  great  battle  will  destroy  the  Man-devil.'* 
[S.  Baring-Gould,  Curious  Myths  of  the  Middle  Ages,  172.  Al-Ash'ari, 
Hastings'  E.R.E.,  I,  112.] 


92  Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

"  The  greatest  of  these  signs  shall  be  that  he  shall  be  of 
the  line  of  Fatima  (i.  e.,  a  Sherif,  or  descendant  of  the 
Prophet);  that  he  shall  be  proclaimed  Mahdi  against  his 
will,  not  seeking  such  proclamation  for  himself,  and  not  caus- 
ing strife  amongst  the  faithful  to  obtain  it,  nor  even  yielding 
to  it  till  threatened  with  death  by  them.  He  shall  be  pro- 
claimed in  the  Mosque  of  Mecca,  not  elsewhere ;  he  shall  not 
appear  save  when  there  is  strife  after  the  death  of  a  Khalifa ; 
he  shall  neither  come  nor  be  proclaimed  until  such  time  as 
there  is  no  Khalifa  over  the  Moslems.  His  advent  shall 
coincide  with  that  of  Anti-Christ,  after  whom  Jesus  will  de- 
scend and  join  himself  to  the  Mahdi.  These  are  the  signs 
of  his  coming.  The  others  are  imaginary  or  disputed,  and 
whosoever  shall,  of  his  own  will,  declare  himself  to  be  the 
Mahdi  and  try  to  assert  himself  by  force,  is  a  pretender, 
such  as  have  already  appeared  many  times."  [Quoted  by 
the  Earl  of  Cromer,  Modern  Egypt,  I,  351-2.] 

As  the  following  pages  will  show,  most  of  the  Mahdi  who 
have  appeared  from  time  to  time  have  not  been  distinguished 
by  the  stigmata  given  by  this  Sherif,  almost  all  of  them 
having  been  self -pro  claimed. 

The  Mahdi  in  Spainf  Africa,  and  Arabia 

The  revolt  of  the  Shiites  against  the  Abbasids  in  the  sec- 
ond century  A.  H.  was  a  messianic  movement  in  Mohamme- 
danism closely  paralleling  those  of  Judaism.  The  revolt 
came  about  the  middle  of  this  century,  when  the  Abbasids 
were  hard-pressed,  and  when  the  heavens  themselves  seemed 
to  herald  their  downf ah1.  There  were  great  showers  of  shoot- 
ing stars  which  both  parties  interpreted  as  heralding  the 
downfall  of  the  ruling  Abbasids. 

"  Messianic  hope  was  alive,  and  a  Mahdi,  a  Guided  of 
God,  was  looked  for.  This  had  long  been  the  attitude  of  the 
Alids,  and  the  Abbasids  began  to  feel  a  necessity  to  gain 
for  their  de  facto  rule  the  sanction  of  theocratic  hopes.  In 
143  Halley's  comet  was  visible  for  twenty  days,  and  in  147 
there  were  again  showers  of  shooting  stars.  On  the  part  of 
the  Abbasids,  homage  was  solemnly  rendered  to  the  eldest 


The  Mahdi:  The  Messiah  of  Mohammedanism        93 

son  of  Al-Mansur,  the  Khalifa  of  the  time  as  successor  of 
his  father,  under  the  title  of  al-Mahdi,  and  several  sayings 
were  forged  and  ascribed  to  the  Prophet  which  told  who 
and  what  manner  of  man  the  Mahdi  would  be,  in  terms  which 
clearly  pointed  to  this  heir-apparent.  The  Alids,  on  their 
side,  were  urged  on  to  fresh  revolts."  [MacDonald,  Muslim 
Theology,  etc.,  34-5.] 

It  was  during  the  time  of  oppression  when  Othman  was 
Caliph  (654—5  A.  D.),  that  Ibn  Saba,  or  Ibn  as-Sanda,  a  Jew 
from  the  south  of  Arabia,  appeared  in  Al-Basra  and  ex- 
pressed a  desire  to  embrace  the  Islamic  faith.  It  was  not 
long  before  the  astute  Mohammedans  discovered  that  he  was 
a  firebrand  of  sedition,  steeped  in  disaffection  toward  the 
existing  government  and  they  forcibly  removed  him.  From 
Al-Basra  he  went  to  Al-Kufa.  Expelled  from  Al-Kufa  he 
sought  refuge  in  Syria.  From  here,  too,  he  was  expelled, 
but  not  until  he  had  given  a  dangerous  impulse  to  the  already 
discontented  classes  of  that  province.  He  found  a  safer  re- 
treat in  Egypt,  and  here  he  set  forth  strange  and  startling 
doctrines.  Mohammed  was  to  come  again,  as  was  also  the 
Messiah.  "  Meanwhile  Ali  was  his  legate.  Othman  was  a 
usurper,  and  his  governors  a  set  of  godless  tyrants.  Impiety 
and  wrong  were  rampant  everywhere ;  truth  and  justice  could 
be  restored  no  otherwise  than  by  the  overthrow  of  this  wicked 
dynasty.  Such  was  the  preaching  which  daily  gained  ground 
in  Egypt ;  by  busy  correspondence  it  was  spread  all  over  the 
Empire,  and  startled  the  minds  of  men  already  foreboding 
evil  from  the  sensible  heavings  of  a  slumbering  volcano." 
[Sir  William  Muir,  The  Caliphate  —  Its  Rise,  Decline  and 
Fall,  216-7.  Edinburgh,  1915.] 

The  first  Mahdi  seems  to  have  been  Mohammed  Ibn  al 
Hanafiyah,  son  of  Ali,  though  not  of  Fatima.  He  was  pro- 
claimed by  one  Mukhtar  in  the  reign  of  Abd  al  Malik  (685- 
705),  after  the  murder  of  Hlisain,  Ali's  son.  The  Persian 
followers  refused  to  believe  him  dead,  declaring  that  he  would 
return  at  the  end  of  seventy  years.  [A.  Oilman,  Story  of 
the  Saracens,  311.] 

In  the  latter  part  of  the  eighth  century,  Hakim  Ibn  Allah, 
or  Al  Mokas»a*  "  the  Veiled,"  was  regarded  as  divine  and 


94»  Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

was  worshipped  for  centuries,  despite  the  fact  that  during 
his  lifetime  his  armies  were  disastrously  defeated  by  Mahdi, 
the  third  Abbasid  Caliph.  That  his  followers  might  be  able 
to  recognize  him,  he  promised  to  reappear  at  his  subsequent 
reincarnation  as  a  gray  man  riding  a  gray  beast. 

One  of  the  earliest  Moroccan  Mahdi  was  Mudhdhen  of 
Tlemcen.  In  851  he  forbade  the  cutting  of  the  hair  or  nails, 
and  the  wearing  of  ornaments.  This  addition  to  or  detrac- 
tion from  the  natural  person  was  a  reflection  upon  the  Al- 
mighty. He  secured  many  proselytes  in  Africa  and  in  Spain 
but  was  eventually  captured  and  crucified  by  the  Ameer  of 
Andalusia. 

The  next  Mahdi  was  Hameem.  He  proclaimed  his  mes- 
siahship  in  936  in  Ghomara  and  secured  a  goodly  following. 
The  hours  of  prayer  were  reduced  from  the  orthodox  five  to 

two one  at  sunrise  and  one  at  sunset.  At  each  prayer 

there  were  to  be  weepings  and  three  prostrations,  the  hand 
being  held  between  the  head  and  the  floor.  The  devotee  was 
to  begin  his  prayer  with  the  words,  "  Deliver  me  from  sin,  O 
Thou  who  givest  eyes  to  see  the  Universe.  Deliver  me  from 
sin,  O  Thou  who  drewest  Jonah  from  the  stomach  of  the  fish, 
and  Moses  from  the  flood."  To  the  ordinary  confession  he 
was  to  add,  "  And  I  believe  in  Hameem,  and  in  his  companion, 
Abn  Ikhlaf,  and  I  believe  in  Tabia,  aunt  of  Hameem."  He 
provided  fasts  for  Tuesdays,  Thursdays,  and  Fridays  dur- 
ing the  ten  days  of  Ramadan  and  the  ten  of  the  feast  of 
Shoowal.  To  break  the  fast  on  Thursday  was  to  incur  a  fine 
of  three  bullocks,  and  to  break  it  on  Tuesday  a  fine  of  two 
bullocks.  Sows  were  now  permitted  as  food,  but  eggs  and 
the  heads  of  animals  were,  among  other  things,  forbidden. 
Pilgrimages  and  certain  purifications  were  abolished.  This 
Mahdi  also  met  with  crucifixion  and  his  head  was  sent  to 
Cordova. 

During  the  Muwahhadi  Period  (1149-1269)  Mohammed 
Ibn  Hud  assumed  the  title  of  El  Madi,  "  the  Director,"  and 
secured  a  large  following,  though  he,  too,  was  overthrown. 
In  this  same  period,  while  Abd  El  Mumin  was  in  charge  of 
affairs  in  Spain  (1130-1163)  there  arose  in  the  western 
part  of  that  country  a  Mahdi.  He  was,  however,  forthwith 


The  Mahdi:  The  Messiah  of  Mohammedanism        95 

captured,  and,  upon  his  explanation  and  confession  that  he 
was  the  "  false  dawn,"  was  pardoned.  [B.  Meakim,  The 
Moorish  Empire,  87-8.  London,  1899.] 

Early  in  the  tenth  century  (902)  Abn  Abdallah  (or 
Obeidalla)  found  the  Berbers  of  Algeria  ready  for  the  call. 
He  drew  vast  crowds  after  him  and,  by  their  help,  defeated 
the  Aghlabid  dynasty,  getting  possession  of  the  capital  of 
the  kingdom.  "  He  preached  the  impending  advent  of  the 
Mehdi  (Mahdi),  and,  to  meet  the  expectation  so  raised,  sum- 
moned Sa'id  the  son  of  his  deceased  master  Mohammed. 
Sa'id  came,  but  not  under  his  real  name.  He  claimed  to  be 
descended  from  the  Imam  Isfja'il,  and  called  himself  Obei- 
dallah.  The  adventures  of  this  Mahdi  in  his  flight  through 
Egypt  and  wanderings  as  a  merchant  with  a  caravan  to 
Tripoli,  are  little  less  than  a  romance.  Suspected  by  the 
Aghlabis,  he  was  cast  into  prison,  and  so  remained  until  re- 
leased by  the  victorious  Abn  Abdallah,  who  for  a  time  pro- 
fessed to  be  in  doubt  whether  Obeidallah  were  the  veritable 
Mahdi  or  not.  At  last,  however,  he  placed  him  on  the 
throne,  and  himself  reaped  the  not  infrequent  fruit  of  dis- 
interested labours  in  the  founding  of  a  dynasty,  for  he  was 
assassinated  by  command  of  the  monarch  who  owed  to  him 
his  throne,  but  had  now  become  jealous  of  his  influence.  As- 
suming the  title,  Commander  of  the  Faithful,  Obeidallah,  in 
virtue  of  his  alleged  descent  from  the  Prophet's  daughter 
Fatima,  became  the  Fatimid  Caliph  of  a  kingdom  which  em- 
braced both  the  dominions  heretofore  held  by  the  Aghlabid 
dynasty,  and  the  nearer  districts  of  the  Caliphatg,  bordering 
on  the  Mediterranean.  Its  capital  was  Al-Mehdiga  —  near 
Tunis  —  the  '  Africa  '  of  Froissart.  The  name  means  '  be- 
longing to  the  Mehdi.'  He  made  repeated  attempts  to  gain 
Egypt  also,  but  was  repulsed  by  Mumis,  Al-Muktadir's  com- 
mander there."  [Sir  William  Muir,  op.  cit.,  562-3.  B. 
Meakim,  41,  87.  Jeremiah  Curtin,  The  Mongols,  205.  Bos- 
ton, 1908'.  A.  Oilman,  The  Saracens,  414-6.] 

The  Mad  Hakim  (996-1020),  most  famous  of  the  earlier 
Egyptian  Mahdi,  "  disappeared  "  rather  than  died,  and  his 
reappearance  is  still  confidently  awaited  by  the  Druses  in  the 
Lebanon  Mountains  and  the  Hauran.  The  Ismaili  sect,  also, 


96  Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

is  inspired  by  this  idea  and  awaits  the  return  of  a  Mahdi, 
Mohammed  Ibn  Ismail,  of  the  family  of  Ali,  as,  similarly, 
do  the  Carmations.  [Art.  on  Druses  in  Ency.  Britt.,  llth 
ed.] 

"At  the  beginning  of  the  sixth  century  (twelfth  century 
A.  D.)  a  certain  Berber  student  of  theology,  Ibn  Tumart  by 
name,  travelled  in  the  East  in  search  of  knowledge.  An 
early  and  persistent  western  tradition  asserts  that  he  was  a 
favorite  pupil  of  al-Ghazzali's,  and  was  marked  out  by  him 
as  showing  the  signs  of  a  future  founder  of  empire.  This 
may  be  taken  for  what  it  is  worth.  What  is  certain  is  that 
Ibn  Tumart  went  back  to  the  Maghrib  and  there  brought 
about  the  triumph  of  a  doctrine  which  was  derived,  if  modi- 
fied, from  that  of  the  Ash'arites. 

"  Ibn  Tumart  started  in  life  as  a  reformer  of  the  corrup- 
tions of  the  day,  and  seems  to  have  slipped  from  that  into  the 
belief  that  he  had  been  appointed  by  God  as  the  reformer 
for  all  time.  As  happens  with  reformers,  from  expectation 
it  came  to  force ;  from  preaching  at  the  abuses  of  the  govern- 
ment to  rebellion  against  the  government.  That  govern- 
ment, the  Murabit,  went  down  before  Ibn  Tumart  and  his 
successors,  and  the  pontifical  rule  of  the  Muwahlids,  the 
asserters  of  God's  tawhid  or  unity,  rose  in  its  place. 

"  The  success  of  Ibn  Tumart,  if  halting  at  first,  was  even- 
tually complete.  As  a  simple  lawyer  who  felt  called  upon 
to  protest  —  as,  indeed,  all  good  Muslims,  in  virtue  of  a 
tradition  from  Muhammad  —  against  the  abuses  of  the  time, 
he  accomplished  comparatively  little.  As  Mahdi,  he  and  his 
supporter  and  successor,  Abd  al-Mu'mim,  swept  the  country. 
For  his  movement  was  not  merely  Imamite  and  Muslim,  but 
an  expression  as  well  of  Berber  nationalism.  Here  was  a 
man,  sprung  from  their  midst,  of  their  own  stock  and  tongue, 
who,  as  Prophet  of  God,  called  them  to  arms.  They  obeyed 
his  call,  worshipped  him  and  fought  for  him.  He  translated 
the  Qur'an  for  them  into  Berber ;  functionaries  of  the  church 
had  to  know  Berber ;  his  own  theological  writings  circulated 
in  Berber  as  well  as  in  Arabic.  As  Persia  took  Islam  and 
moulded  it  to  suit  herself,  so  now  did  the  Berber  tribes." 

Ibn  Tumart,  as  a  personality,  is  no  less  interesting  be- 


The  Mahdi:  The  Messiah  of  Mohammedanism        97 

cause  of  the  departure  from  tradition  which  he  effected,  first 
within  himself,  and,  secondly,  within  the  larger  social  unit. 
The  current  theology  explained  the  anthropomorphic  pas- 
sages of  the  Koran  literally,  while  he  gave  them  a  meta- 
physical interpretation  and  in  this  manner  explained  away 
the  stumbling  blocks.  As  he  had  power  to  deliver  from  na- 
tional enemies  so,  by  virtue  of  his  own  divinity,  he  could  pro- 
claim the  truth  in  his  own  strength.  "  Such  a  leader,  then, 
could  claim  from  the  people  absolute  obedience  and  credence. 
His  word  must  be  for  them  the  source  of  truth."  He  accord- 
ingly dispensed  with  all  the  prevailing  analogical  arguments. 
The  new  theology  as  entertained  by  his  followers  may  deserve 
the  epithet  of  "  a  strange  jumble,"  but  it  was  a  new  system 
and  one  imposed  by  this  remarkable  personality.  "  With 
them,  the  Zahirite  system  of  canon  law,  rejected  by  all  other 
Muslim  peoples,  enjoyed  its  own  brief  period  of  power  and 
glory.  Shi'ite  legends  and  superstitions  mingled  with  philo- 
sophical free  thought."  Ibn  Tumart  is  one  of  the  most  re- 
markable figures  that  appear  upon  the  stage  of  Moorish  his- 
tory. [MacDonald,  244-9.  B.  Meakim,  65-70.  Art.  on 
Ibn  Tumart  in  Hastings'  Ency.  Rel.  and  Eth.,  VII,  74-5. 
Berbers  and  North  Africa,  Ib.,  II,  506-19.] 

Hallaj  was  executed  at  Bagdad  in  A.  D.  922  on  the  charge 
of  pretending  to  be  an  incarnation  of  the  Deity  and  of  hav- 
ing disciples  who  accepted  this  claim.  His  head  was  sent 
to  Khurasan  to  be  shown  to  his  followers  there  and  the 
ashes  of  his  cremated  body  were  thrown  into  the  Tigris. 
But  many  of  his  followers  refused  to  believe  their  lord  and 
master  dead  and  confidently  expected  his  reappearance. 
They  based  their  faith  on  a  passage  in  the  Koran  (IV,  156) 
regarding  Christ's  reappearance,  declared  Hallaj  trans- 
ported to  heaven,  and  asserted  that  the  victim  of  the  exe- 
cution of  the  supposed  Hallaj  was  one  of  his  enemies  changed 
by  God  into  a  likeness  of  their  master,  or,  said  others,  of  a 
horse  or  a  mule.  [Art.,  Hallaj,  in  Hastings'  E.R.E.,  VI, 
480-2.] 

"  In  Hakim  a  final  appeal  was  made  to  mankind,  and  after 
the  door  of  mercy  had  stood  open  to  all  for  twenty-six 
years,  it  was  finally  and  forever  closed.  When  the  tribula- 


98  Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

tion  of  the  faithful  has  reached  its  height,  Hakim  will  re- 
appear to  conquer  the  world  and  render  his  religion  supreme. 
Druses  believed  to  be  dispersed  to  China  will  return  to  Syria. 
The  combined  body  of  the  Faithful  will  take  Mecca,  and 
finally  Jerusalem,  and  all  the  world  will  accept  the  Faith." 

A  defender  of  Hakim,  Moktana  Baba  ud-Din,  whose  writ- 
ings were  known  from  Constantinople  to  India,  addressed  a 
letter  to  Constantine  VIII,  and  one  to  Michael  the  Paphla- 
gonian,  in  which  he  endeavored  to  prove  that  the  Christian 
Messiah  had  reappeared  in  the  person  of  Hanza.  Hakim 
had  believed  himself  in  direct  intercourse  with  the  Deity  and 
even  an  incarnation  of  divine  intelligence.  In  1016  his 
claims,  supported  by  Ismael  Darazi  (whence,  possibly,  the 
name  "  Druse"),  were  made  known  in  the  mosque  at  Cairo. 
They  received  some  small  support  in  the  Lebanons,  where 
they  are  still  championed  by  the  Druses,  and  also,  to  a  slight 
extent,  among  Mohammedan  sects  in  Persia.  When  Hakim 
was  assassinated  in  1020  his  vizier  and  apostle,  Hanzi  ibn 
Ali  ibn  Ahmed,  announced  that  Hakim  had  but  withdrawn 
for  a  season,  and  encouraged  his  followers  to  look  forward 
with  confidence  to  his  triumphant  return. 

Shortly  after  the  middle  of  the  twelfth  century  Rashid-ad- 
Din  Sinan  announced  himself  as  the  Imam,  and  as  God  in- 
carnate, the  all-powerful  Mahdi.  His  lameness  was  a  stum- 
bling block  to  some  who  expected  a  Mahdi  unblemished 
physically  as  well  as  spiritually,  but  among  the  sect  of  the 
Isma'ili  he  won  many  followers.  [Assassins,  in  Hastings' 
E.R.E.,  II,  141.  For  a  detailed  account  see  S.  Guyard  in 
Journal  Asiatique,  1877.] 

Khidr,  "  the  green  one,"  is  the  name,  or  title,  of  a  Mo- 
hammedan saint  whom  Islam  believes  is  still  alive  and  to 
whom,  along  the  coast  of  Syria,  numerous  sanctuaries  have 
been  built  wherein  sacrifices  and  the  first-born  of  animals  are 
still  offered  to  him.  Mohammedan  literature  has,  at  times, 
identified  him  with  the  Messiah,  and  he  has  been  regarded  as 
a  mediator,  an  ever  present  help  in  time  of  trouble,  a  balm  to 
the  afflicted.  [Khidr,  in  Hastings'  E.R.E.,  VII,  693-5.  S. 
I.  Curtiss,  Primitive  Semitic  Religion  To-day. ] 

Ibn  Khaldun,  the  great  theologian  of  the  fourteenth  cen- 


The  Mahdi:  The  Messiah  of  Mohammedanism        99 

tury,  discountenances  the  belief  that  Khidr  is  alive,  brand- 
ing it  as  a  superstition.  [Ameer  Ali,  Short  History  of  the 
Saracens,  295.  London,  1910.]  But  popular  belief  in  Mo- 
hammedan lands,  as  in  more  cultured  regions,  outstrips  the 
limits  of  conservative  dogma. 

The  Shiites  expect  the  return  of  the  last  Imam,  Moham- 
med al  Mahdi,  who  died  in  A.  D.  873,  and  never  mention  his 
name  without  adding,  "  May  God  hasten  his  glad  advent." 
This  last  Imam  or  Mahdi,  when  a  boy  five  years  of  age,  pined 
for  his  father,  who  had  been  deported  from  Medina  to  Sa- 
marra  by  the  tyrant  Mutawakkil,  and  there  detained  until 
his  death.  In  his  distress  the  child  entered,  in  search  of  his 
father,  a  cavern  not  far  from  the  lad's  home.  From  this 
cavern  he  never  returned.  "  The  pathos  of  this  calamity 
culminated  in  the  hope  —  the  expectation  which  fills  the 
hearts  of  Hassan's  followers  —  that  the  child  may  return  to 
relieve  a  sorrowing  and  sinful  world  of  its  burden  of  sin  and 
oppression.  So  late  as  the  fourteenth  century  when  Ibn 
Khaldun  was  writing  his  great  work,  the  Shias  ( Shiites )  were 
wont  to  assemble  at  eventide  at  the  entrance  of  the  cavern 
and  supplicate  the  missing  child  to  return  to  them.  After 
waiting  for  a  considerable  time,  they  departed  to  their 
homes,  disappointed  and  sorrowful.  This,  says  Ibn  Khal- 
dun, was  a  daily  occurrence.  When  they  were  told  it  was 
hardly  possible  he  could  be  alive,  they  answered  that  as  the 
prophet  Khizr  (Khidr)  was  alive,  why  should  not  their  Imam 
be  alive  too?  .  .  .  This  Imam  is  therefore  called  the  Mun- 
tazzar,  the  Expected  One,  the  Hujja,  or  the  Proof  (of  the 
Truth),  and  the  Kaim,  the  Living."  [Ameer  Ali,  Short 
History  of  the  Saracens,  £95.  London,  1900.  Art.,  Kaim,  in 
Hastings'  E.R.E.  A.  Oilman,  Story  of  the  Saracens,  266, 
Sll-2,  414] 

The  Carmations,  a  religio-political  sect  of  the  Shi'ites 
which  arose  about  the  middle  of  the  third  century  A.  H.,  has 
been  productive  of  many  Mahdi.  The  tenet  of  this  order 
is  that  Universal  Reason  and  the  Universal  Soul  have  mani- 
fested themselves  in  human  form,  and  that  this  human  form 
is  subject  to  a  series  of  reincarnations.  The  last  of  these 
reincarnations  will  be  realized  in  the  Mahdi,  at  which  time  the 


100  Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

end  and  fullness  of  human  life  will  be  realized.  Abdallah  ibn 
MaimuH  (died  A.  H.  180),  of  this  sect,  did  not  die  but  became 
invisible,  so  to  remain  until  his  reappearance  as  the  Mahdi. 
[Art.,  Carmations,  in  Hastings'  E.R.E.,  III,  222-5,  contains 
a  description  of  other  Mahdi  of  this  sect.] 

One  of  the  most  remarkable  of  the  African  Mahdi  was 
Mohammed  Ahmed  Ibn  Seyyid  Abdullah,  born  1848  in  Don- 
galo,  in  the  Sudan.  After  a  varied  religious  career  of  revolt 
against  religious  authority  he  promulgated  new  religious  and 
social  laws  and  declared  himself  the  Mahdi.  His  followers 
were  greatly  oppressed  by  the  tax  gatherers  and  other  of- 
ficials of  the  Turkish  and  Egyptian  governments.  Among 
them  his  doctrines  met  with  notable  success.  After  thrice 
defeating  the  government  troops,  which  the  Sudanese  had 
regarded  as  incomparably  superior  and  not  to  be  coped  with, 
his  claims  received  increasing  attention  and  respect. 

Numerous  miracles  were  credited  to  him,  and  his  claims 
that  the  bullets  of  the  enemy  would  become  water  when  they 
struck  the  bodies  of  his  followers  seemed  for  a  time  to  have 
some  foundation  in  fact.  The  rebellion  which  he  raised 
against  the  Turks  and  English  was  not  quelled  until  Gordon 
had  been  massacred  and  Kitchener  had  appeared  at  Khar- 
toum. 

The  Turkish  forces  which  attacked  the  Dongala,  the 
Mahdi's  followers,  shared  the  superstition  that  these  follow- 
ers were  impervious  to  ordinary  bullets,  and  declared  they 
saw  them  fall  from  the  Dongala  as  rain  drops  off  one's 
body.  The  Turks  were  more  successful  with  silver  bullets 
which  they  made  out  of  dollar  pieces,  and,  almost  as  effica- 
cious as  these,  were  ordinary  bullets  hollowed  out,  a  peg 
of  ebony-wood  or  of  copper  being  then  firmly  fastened  in 
them.  These  gave  new  courage  to  the  soldiers  who  believed 
them  capable  of  killing  the  devil  himself  and,  with  them,  they 
returned  to  the  attack  with  renewed  vigor  and  bravery.  [A. 
J.  Mounteney-Jephson,  Emin  Pasha,  267.  New  York,  1891.1] 

No  better  description  of  this  Sudanese  Mahdi  and  the  be- 
liefs inspired  by  him  can  be  given  than  that  contained  in  a 

[  i  A  similar  belief  had  been  current  in  Scotland.  Claverhouse  was 
considered  proof  against  bullets  but  was  eventually  killed  by  a  silver 


The  Mahdi:  The  Messiah  of -  Mohammedanism      101 

letter  written  by  one  of  his  followers,  Omar  Saleh,  to  Mehmed 
Emin,  Mudir  of  Hatalastiva.  After  the  ordinary  Moham- 
medan greetings  and  preliminary  observations  upon  the 
changefulness  and  temporality  of  life  and  the  world,  and  the 
absoluteness  of  Allah,  in  whose  hands  are  the  keys  of  all 
things,  the  letter  proceeds  to  its  main  purpose :  "  We  be- 
long to  God's  army,"  writes  Omar,  "  and  follow  His  word 
only ;  with  our  army  is  the  victory,  and  we  follow  the  Imam, 
Mahomed  el  Mahdi,  the  son  of  Abdullah  —  before  whom  we 
bow  —  the  Khalifa  and  Prophet  of  God  —  to  whom  we  offer 
our  greetings,  and  of  whom  the  Master  of  all  has  said,  '  And 
in  those  days  there  shall  be  raised  from  my  seat  a  man  who 
shall  fill  the  earth  with  justice  and  light  as  it  was  filled  before 
with  injustice  and  darkness'  (the  Koran).  We  have  now 
come  by  his  order,  and  there  is  no  possible  result  but  what 
is  good  from  his  commandments  in  this  changeful  world. 
We  have  given  ourselves,  our  children,  and  possessions  to  him 
as  an  offering  to  God,  and  He  has  accepted  them  from  us. 
He  has  bought  His  true  believers,  their  souls  and  posses- 
sions with  His  Word,  and  Paradise  belongs  to  them.  If  they 
are  killed,  they  are  killed  as  an  offering  to  God,  and  if  they 
kill,  they  kill  in  His  cause,  as  it  is  written  in  the  Old  Testa- 
ment, in  the  New  Testament,  and  in  the  Koran. 

"  In  the  month  of  Ramadan,  1298,  God  revealed  the  ex- 
pected Mahdi,  and  made  him  sit  on  His  footstool,  and  girded 
him  with  the  sword  of  victory.  He  told  him  that  whoever 
was  his  enemy  was  unfaithful  to  God  and  His  Prophet,  and 
should  suffer  in  this  world  and  in  the  next,  and  his  children 
and  goods  should  become  the  prey  of  the  true  Moslems,  and 
he  (the  Mahdi)  should  be  victorious  over  all  his  foes,  though 
they  were  as  numberless  as  the  sands  of  the  desert ;  and  who- 

button  made  into  a  bullet  This  was  during  the  reign  of  William  and 
Mary. 

Belief  in  immunity  from  bullets  was  current  in  the  Plains  area  during 
the  outbreak  of  the  Sioux  in  1890. 

Again  immunity  from  bullets  was  promised  his  followers  by 
the  Moorish  Pretender,  Jilali  el  Zarhoumy,  "  Father  of  the  She- 
Ass,"  who  disturbed  the  peace  of  Morocco  early  in  the  present 
century,  and  was  a  forerunner  of  the  Mahdi.  A.  J.  Dawson,  Things 
Seen  in  Morocco,  308,  312.  New  York,  1904.} 


102  Messiahs: 'Christian  and  Pagan 

soever  should  disobey  him  should  be  punished  by  God.  And 
God  showed  him  his  angels  and  saints,  from  the  time  of  Adam 
till  this  day,  and  all  the  spirits  and  devils.  He  has  before 
Him  an  army  —  its  chief  is  Israel  —  to  whom  our  greetings ; 
and  He  ever  goes  before  the  victorious  army,  a  distance  of 
forty  miles.  Besides  this  God  related  to  him  many  miracles. 
It  was  impossible  to  count  them,  but  they  were  as  clear  as 
the  sun  at  midday,  whose  light  is  seen  by  all.  And  the  peo- 
ple flocked  to  him  by  the  order  of  God  and  His  Prophet. 

"  He  commanded  the  people  to  collect  and  assist  him 
against  his  foes  from  all  parts  of  the  country,  and  he  wrote 
to  the  Governor-General  at  Khartoum,  and  to  all  the  gover- 
nors in  the  Soudan,  and  his  orders  were  fulfilled.  He  wrote 
to  every  king,  especially  to  the  Sultan  of  Stamboul,  Abdul 
Hamid,  to  Mahomed  Tewfik,  Vali  of  Egypt,  and  to  Victoria, 
Queen  of  Brittania,  because  she  was  in  alliance  with  the 
Egyptian  Government.  Then  the  people  came  from  every 
side  and  submitted  to  his  rule,  and  told  him  they  submitted 
to  God  and  His  Prophet,  and  to  him,  for  there  is  only  one 
God,  and  He  is  supreme,  and  they  promised  they  would  ab- 
stain from  all  evil,  and  that  they  would  neither  steal  nor 
commit  adultery,  nor  do  anything  which  was  forbidden  by 
God.  They  would  give  up  the  world  and  strive  only  for 
God's  Word,  and  make  war  for  their  Holy  Belief  for  ever. 

"  And  we  have  found  him,  the  Mahdi,  more  compassionate 
to  us  than  a  pitying  mother ;  he  lives  with  the  great,  but  has 
pity  for  the  poor;  he  collects  the  people  of  honour  around 
him  and  honours  the  generous ;  he  speaks  only  the  truth  and 
brings  people  to  God,  and  relieves  them  in  this  world,  and 
shows  them  the  path  to  the  next."  [Quoted  by  A.  J.  Mounte- 
ney-Jephson,  Emin  Pasha,  245—8.] 

The  letter  concludes  with  a  detailed  account  of  the  Mahdi's 
successes  over  his  various  enemies,  and  an  exhortation  to  join 
the  host  of  this  triumphant  one. 

The  Soudanese  Mahdi  roused  a  tremor  throughout  the 
downtrodden  Mohammedan  world.  During  the  Egyptian 
war  Mohammedans  from  Assma  and  Lucknow  looked  to 
Arabi  to  restore  their  fortunes,  "  for,"  said  they,  "  we  are 
in  a  desperate  strait  and  need  a  deliverer."  In  Yemen  and 


The  Mahdi:  The  Messiah  of  Mohammedanism      103 

in  Hejaz  the  Arabs,  weary  of  Turkish  rule,  were  ready  to 
join  the  Mahdi  should  he  cross  the  Red  Sea.  [Blunt,  India 
Under  Ripon,  203.  1909.  For  accounts  of  this  Soudanese 
Mahdi,  see  article  on  Mahommed  Ahmed  in  Enc.  Britt.  (llth 
ed.)  ;  F.  R.  Wingate,  Ten  Years  Captivity  in  the  Mahdi' 's 
Camp.  London,  1892,  esp.  Ch.  I ;  Ib.,  Fire  and  Sword  in  the 
Sudan.  London,  1896,  Ch.  IV,  XX;  Ib.,  Mahdiism  in  the 
Sudan.  London,  1889;  A.  J.  B.  Wavell,  A  Modern  Pilgrim 
in  Mecca,  24 ;  Hist,  of  All  Nations,  XX,  385-6.  Sir  Harry 
Johnston,  Africa,  348.  London,  N.  D. ;  S.  Low,  Egypt  in 
Transition,  12-34,  82;  E.  M.  Bliss,  Turkey  and  the  Arme- 
nian Atrocities,  62,  327-9;  De  Bunsen,  The  Soul  of  the  Turk, 
205,  258 ;  M.  M.  Shoemaker,  Islam  Lands,  25,  37,  45,  48-52, 
58,  71-3,  89-91,  98-102.  E.  Fothergill,  Five  Years  in  the 
Sudan,  15-39,  229.  Alford  and  Sword,  Egyptian  Soudan, 
Ch.  II.  London,  1898.  A.  H.  Atteridge,  Towards  Khar- 
toum, Ch.  XIX.  London,  1897.  W.  S.  Churchill,  The  River 
War,  I,  12-116,  II,  99,  212.  B.  Alexander,  From  the  Niger 
to  the  Nile,  II,  357.  New  York,  1907.  W.  E.  Curtis,  Egypt, 
Burma  and  British  Malaysia,  186-7.  1905.] 

It  is  often  deemed  advisable  to  fight  fire  with  fire  and  to 
overcome  divine  aid  by  countervailing  supernatural  sanction. 
Accordingly,  when  Gordon  arrived  in  Egypt  to  quell  the 
Mahdi  uprising,  he  was  instructed  by  the  Khedive  to  embark 
on  the  divine  mission  of  subduing  the  false  Mahdi  and  pre- 
paring the  way  for  the  True  Messiah.  Gordon  himself 
seemed  impressed  with  the  supernatural  sanction  attaching 
to  his  mission  and  his  diary  has  been  likened,  by  Moncure  D. 
Conway,  to  what  one  might  expect  in  the  diary  of  Peter  the 
Hermit ;  containing  such  verses  as  "  I  take  this  prophecy  as 
my  own  " ;  "  And  it  shall  be  for  a  sign  and  for  a  witness 
unto  the  Lord  of  Hosts  in  the  Land  of  Egypt."  Hence,  con- 
cludes the  venerable  commentator,  "  I  reached  the  conclusion 
that  if  one  scratches  the  Englishman  with  a  Moslem  spear 
he  will  find  a  Crusader."  \My  Pilgrimage  to  the  Wise  Men 
of  the  East,  347—8.  1906.  See,  in  confirmation,  the  pub- 
lished diary  of  Gen.  Gordon.] 

The  Sudanese  followers  of  the  Mahdi  may  be  said  to  have 
"  returned  the  compliment "  by  looking  upon  Gordon  as  the 


104  Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

Anti-Christ  whom  their  promised  Mahdi  was  destined  to  de- 
stroy. [A.  Gilman,  Story  of  the  Saracens,  414.  James 
Darmsteter,  Le  Mahdi  depuis  les  origmes  de  VIslam  jusqu'  a 
nos  jour.  Paris,  18'85.  E.  W.  Latimer,  Europe  in  Africa  in 
the  Nineteenth  Century,  76-108.  W.  E.  B.  Du  Bois,  The 
Negro,  45-6.  New  York,  1915.  E.  B.  Bronson,  In  Closed 
Territory,  181.  London,  1907.  A.  B.  Lloyd,  Uganda  to 
Khartoum,  303.  London,  1907.] 

Many  persons  had  appeared  in  Egypt  prior  to  1881  claim- 
ing to  be  the  Mahdi,  one  of  them  in  Upper  Egypt  during  the 
time  of  Ismail  Pasha,  a  contemporary  of  the  Sudanese 
Mahdi.  [Earl  of  Cromer,  Modern  Egypt,  I,  352,  356ff., 
470;  II,  20-30,  61-5.  N.  D.  Harris,  Intervention  and 
Colonization  in  Africa,  97,  119,  332-44,  348.  New  York, 
1914.] 

In  1799  there  appeared  in  Egypt  a  Mahdi  who,  though 
killed  by  the  French,  was  expected  by  his  followers  to  return. 
When  the  French  soon  afterward  retired  from  Egypt  they 
supposed  that  the  Mahdi's  prayers  had  been  answered  by 
Allah.  [E.  W.  Latimer,  78.]  For  generations  before  the 
appearance  of  the  Sudan  Mahdi  the  rumor  had  been  abroad 
that  in  the  latter  part  of  this  century  a  new  prophet  would 
arise,  gather  to  himself  the  scattered  forces  of  the  faithful 
and  restore  the  Moslem  faith  and  power  to  their  ancient 
height.  This  prepared  the  way  for  the  announcement  in 
1881  of  himself  as  the  Mahdi  foretold  by  Mohammed,  whose 
advent  had  been  predicted  for  that  year,  and  gave  persuasion 
to  the  message  which  he  sent  to  the  sheiks  and  fakirs  round 
about,  declaring  his  divine  mission  to  reform  Islam,  establish 
universal  equality,  a  universal  law,  a  universal  religion,  and 
a  community  of  goods ;  with  the  accompanying  threat  that 
he  would  destroy  all,  both  Mohammedan  and  Christian,  who 
should  refuse  to  accept  his  claims  of  being  the  true  prophet. 
The  ignorant  and  credulous  Arabs  found  further  proof  of 
his  genuineness  in  peculiar  marks  upon  his  face  symbolic  of 
a  true  prophetic  character,  and  in  difference  in  the  length  of 
his  two  arms,  and  in  difference  in  the  color  of  his  two  eyes  — 
differences  which  pertained  to  Mohammed  the  Prophet.  [G. 
M.  Towle,  England  in  Egypt,  Ch.  V.  Boston,  1886.  Another 


The  Mahdi:  The  Messiah  of  Mohammedanism      105 

tradition  asserted  that  the  Mahdi  would  have  long  hands. 
See  Earl  of  Cromer,  op.  cit.,  I,  351.] 

As  already  mentioned  the  excitement  in  the  Sudan  reverber- 
ated to  Abyssinia.  "  There  was  an  old  prophecy  in  Abys- 
sinia, handed  down  from  generation  to  generation,  which  said 
that  in  the  fulness  of  time  a  king  should  arise  in  Ethiopia,  of 
Solomon's  lineage,  who  should  be  acknowledged  to  be  the 
greatest  king  on  earth;  and  his  power  should  embrace  all 
Ethiopia  and  Egypt.  He  should  scourge  the  infidels  out  of 
Palestine  and  purge  Jerusalem  from  all  defilers.  He  should 
destroy  all  the  inhabitants  thereof,  and  his  name  should  be 
Theodoras." 

This  prophecy  brought  to  the  fore  a  man  who  had  been 
known  as  Kassai,  but  who  now  claimed  that  his  name  was 
Theodorus.  Great  successes  attended  his  arms  and  he  con- 
quered province  after  province.  When  the  conquests  of  the 
Sudanese  Mahdi  had  reached  to  the  borders  of  Abyssinia  he 
determined  to  advance  on  Omdurman  and  destroy  Mahdiism. 
In  this  he  was  aided  by  another  prophecy  current  among  the 
Arabs  to  the  effect  that  a  king  of  Abyssinia  should  advance 
on  Khartoum,  his  horsemen  wading  in  blood,  and  that  he 
should  tie  his  horse  to  a  lone  tree  standing  on  a  certain  hill 
near  the  city.  When  the  war  broke  out  belief  in  this  proph- 
ecy caused  almost  a  panic  in  Omdurman.  Subsequent  events, 
however,  failed  to  justify  it,  for  King  John,  as  he  was  then 
known,  was  struck  by  a  bullet  and  killed,  his  army  defeated, 
and  his  head  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  exulting  enemy.  [E. 
W.  Latimer,  op.  cit.,  2£9U48.] 

The  messianic  movement  initiated  by  the  Sudanese  Mahdi 
still  lingers.  In  1903  Mohammed-el- Amin,  a  native  of  Tunis, 
proclaimed  himself  the  Mahdi  and  secured  a  following  in 
Kordofan.  He  was  captured  by  the  governor  of  Kordofan 
and  publicly  executed  at  El  Obeid.  In  April,  1908,  Abdel- 
Kader,  a  Halo  win  Arab  and  ex-dervish,  rebelled  in  the  Blue 
Nile  province,  claiming  to  be  the  prophet  Issa  (Jesus).  He 
murdered  the  deputy  inspector  of  the  province  and  the 
Egyptian  mamur,  after  which  the  rising  was  promptly  sup- 
pressed and  Issa  captured  and  hanged.  [Cf.  art.,  Sudan, 
in  Ency.  Britt.,  llth  ed.] 


106  Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

The  Mahdi  in  India 

Nor  have  Indian  Mussulmans  been  without  their  redeemers, 
at  once  religious  and  political.  In  the  eleventh  century 
A.  H.  we  find  a  remarkable  movement  among  them,  roused  by 
the  expected  advent  of  the  Imam  Mahdi.  [F.  T.  Wheeler, 
History  of  India,  IV,  Part  I,  151-3.  W.  W.  Hunter,  in 
Our  Indian  Mussulmans,  was  the  first  to  bring  home  to  the 
English  mind  the  political  danger  inherent  in  Mohammedan 
religious  revivals.  See  also  Sell,  Essays  on  Islam.']  The 
revolution  in  Calcutta  has  been  attributed  in  part  to  a  reli- 
gious cause,  namely,  the  uprising  of  a  Mohammedan  sect, 
the  Arya  Samaj  ;  there  is  no  doubt  that,  on  occasions,  its 
activity  reaches  out  into  the  sphere  of  politics  no  less 
assiduously  than  into  that  of  theology.  [J.  F.  Hurst, 
Indika,  489—90.  Holderness,  Peoples  and  Problems  of 
India,  122  (Home  University  Library).  Imperial  Gazetter 
of  India,  I,  426-8.  Oxford,  1909.]  My  esteemed  friend,  Mr. 
Lala  Lajpat  Rai,  author  of  a  book  on  the  Arya  Samaj,  and 
for  a  long  time  one  of  the  leading  members  of  this  organiza- 
tion, stoutly  maintains  in  his  treatise  that  the  Arya  Samaj 
is  religious,  and  is  not  political,  though  numerous  members 
of  the  order  have  been  prominent  in  political  uprisings. 
The  fact,  however,  that  these  political  movements  emanate 
from  the  order  shifts  the  burden  of  proof  upon  those  who 
regard  the  political  as  only  per  accidens  related  to  the  reli- 
gious. One  cannot  examine  all  the  facts  without  perceiving 
that  the  Arya  Samaj,  like  almost  all  other  religious  orders, 
is  an  easy  door  to  political  agitation.  It  paves  the  way  to 
agitation  and  beckons  with  its  psychology,  if  not  with  its 
logic. 

Sikhism,  also,  like  many  others  of  these  movements,  started 
as  a  religious  reform  and  ended  in  political  organization, 
the  submerged  element  coming  prominently  to  the  fore  as  its 
development  proceeded.  Here,  too,  as  has  not  uncommonly 
happened,  most  or  many  of  the  reformers  have  come  from 
the  lower  ranks,  and,  especially  from  one  of  the  oppressed 
castes.1  [Imperial  Gazetter,  I,  426-8.  B.  F.  Sarkar,  Sci- 
i  Again,  Mr.  Rai  insists  (in  conversations  with  the  author)  that  Sikh- 


The  Mahdi:  The  Messiah  of  Mohammedanism      107 

ence  of  History  and  Hope  of  Mankind,  61.  London,  1912. 
See  the  whole  of  section  VII  on  The  Relativity  of  Religious 
Movements  and  of  Other  Aspects  of  Human  Life  to  the  Con- 
junction of  Circumstances.] 

The  Wahhabee  movement  that  spread  from  the  Rebel  Camp 
of  Sittana  to  Lower  Bengal,  the  most  simple  and  rigid  form 
that  Islam  has  ever  assumed,  entertained  the  belief  in  the 
Mahdi  coupled  with  intense,  if  not  vicious,  political  aspira- 
tions. Accordingly,  in  India,  notably  on  the  North-West 
frontier,  hope  in  the  Mahdi  and  the  sinister  political  aim 
have  been  welded  into  a  formidable  weapon  of  attack  to  be 
wielded  against  the  common  foe,  the  uncircumcised  infidel 
who  governs  them.  [W.  G.  Palgrave,  Essays  on  Eastern 
Questions,  125-6.  London,  1872.] 

Less  than  half  a  century  ago  a  wretched  creature  by  the 
name  of  Hakim  Singh,  living  in  extreme  filth  and  dirt,  gave 
himself  out  as  a  reincarnation  of  Jesus  Christ,  and,  in  keep- 
ing with  that  character,  beneficently  offered  to  baptise  the 
missionaries  who  attempted  to  argue  with  him.  He  prom- 
ised to  his  followers,  among  other  things,  the  destruction 
of  the  British  Government,  which,  to  him  and  to  others,  ap- 
peared responsible  for  their  existing  ills.  He  preached  a 
pure  morality  and  professed  to  work  miracles.  This  Hakim 
Singh,  or  Ram  Singh,  the  leader  of  a  sect  that  caused  a 
serious  outbreak  in  the  Punjab  in  1872,  is  described  as  a 
man  of  considerable  ability,  the  son  of  a  carpenter.  He 
gradually  acquired  a  reputation  for  extreme  sanctity  and 
for  the  possession  of  miraculous  powers.  As  his  influence 
and  the  number  of  his  followers  increased,  the  tendency  of 
his  teaching  became  more  political.  [Punjab  Administra- 
tion Report,  1871-2,  p.  4?12.  Sir  Alfred  Lyall,  Asiatic 
Studies,  I,  143.  London,  1907.  J.  G.  Frazer,  The  Dying 
God.  Golden  Bough  Edition.] 

About  a  quarter  of  a  century  before  this,  there  appeared  in 
the  remote  eastern  districts  of  the  Central  Provinces  one 

ism  is  only  religious;  but  the  fact  that  the  aspiration  of  the  individuals 
composing  it  became  political  soon  after  becoming  religious,  and  often 
with  proportionate  zeal,  would  seem  to  speak  for  itself,  and  to  proclaim 
a  real,  if  wholly  unintended  and  unconscious,  connection. 


108  Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

Ghasi  Das,  an  inspired  prophet,  who  sojourned  in  the  wil- 
derness for  six  months.  He  then  reappeared  and  preached 
to  the  poor  and  ignorant  the  creed  of  Satnam  or  the  True 
Name.  His  followers,  when  he  died  in  1850,  numbered  about 
half  a  million.  [Lyall,  op.  cit.,  I,  144;  J.  Morrison,  New 
Ideas  in  India.  London,  1906.] 

Mirza  Ghulam  Ahmad,  born  in  the  Punjab  in  1838,  died 
1908,  made,  of  all  the  Hindoo  messiahs,  the  most  extravagant 
claims.  The  movement  initiated  by  him  may  be  attributed 
largely  to  reaction  against  the  striking  success  of  a  Chris- 
tian mission  in  the  Central  Punjab  and  against  the  impetus 
of  the  religious  order  established  by  Dayananda.  Mirza 
Ghulam  Ahmad  was  both  Mohammedan  Mahdi  and  Christian 
Messiah;  indeed  his  claims  were  triplex,  for  he  held  himself 
out  as  also  the  Hindu  Avatar,  or  "  Expected  One."  He  was 
the  fulfillment  of  a  prophecy  concerning  the  Second  Coming, 
but  he  was  in  no  wise  subsidiary  to  Christ.  On  the  con- 
trary, he  proclaimed  himself  superior  to  him  in  both  per- 
sonality and  doctrine.  This  Mahdi-Messiah  was  not  blind  to 
the  parallel  between  the  circumstances  of  his  time  and  those 
of  the  time  of  Christ.  He  pointed  them  out  in  some  detail 
and  with  considerable  acumen.  The  political  parallel  noted 
by  him  was,  Indians  under  British  rule  in  very  much  the 
same  subordinate  position  as  Jews  under  Roman  rule.  As 
a  corollary:  The  corruptions  of  India  are  very  similar  to 
the  corruptions  of  Palestine  in  the  First  Century  A.  D. 

The  truth  of  his  messiahship  he  proved  by  miracles,  most 
of  which  were  in  the  nature  of  the  fulfillment  of  prophecies  — 
and  not  wholly  auspicious  fulfillments.  He  is  said  to  have 
successfully  predicted  the  death  of  no  less  than  one  hundred 
and  twenty-one  people.  Among  this  number  was  Pandit 
Lekh  Raui,  his  chief  antagonist  in  the  Arya  Samaj,  who  was 
assassinated.  Another  prediction  referred  to  his  Christian 
antagonist,  Deputy  Abdullah  Atham ;  but  he,  being  well  pro- 
tected, survived  the  allotted  fifteen  months.  His  continued 
prophecies  proved  so  mischievous  that  on  February  24,  1899, 
the  Government  of  the  Punjab  ordered  him  to  leave  off  such 
prophecies,  and  this  he  promised  to  do. 

He  also  predicted  the  birth  of  sons  to  certain  friends,  but 


The  Mahdi:  The  Messiah  of  Mohammedanism      109 

not  always  successfully.  More  successful  was  his  prediction 
that  the  rival  American  of  his  day,  John  Alexander  Prophet 
Elijah  Dowie,  whom  he  called  an  impostor,  would  die  before 
he  did;  this  prophecy,  to  the  great  satisfaction  of  the  fol- 
lowers of  Ahmad,  was  fulfilled.  Indeed  his  followers  found 
some  justification  for  his  boast:  "  I  shall  be  guilty  of  con- 
cealing the  truth  if  I  do  not  assert  that  the  prophecies  which 
God  Almighty  has  granted  me  are  of  a  far  better  quality  in 
clearness,  force,  and  truth  than  the  ambiguous  predictions 
of  Jesus."  [  J.  Morrison,  New  Ideas  in  India,  202^3.  Lon- 
don, 1906.  J.  B.  Pratt,  India  and  Its  Faiths,  311.  H.  P. 
Beach,  India  and  Christian  Opportunity,  240.  New  York, 
1908.] 

He  prophesied  and  promised  that  his  people  would  be  free 
from  pestilence  without  plague  inoculation,  yet  he  himself 
died  from  cholera.  Such  an  inauspicious  death  afforded  lit- 
tle encouragement  to  his  disciples.  [The  best  account  of 
this  man  and  his  doctrines  is  that  given  by  Farquhar,  Mod- 
ern Religious  Movements  m  India,  137-48.  Macmillan,  1915. 
I  am  indebted  to  Mr.  La j pat  Rai,  author  of  The  Arya 
Samaj,  for  this  reference,  and  for  confirmation  of  the  above 
description.] 

This  and  other  instances  tend  to  confirm  Farquhar's  ob- 
servation that  the  religious  aspect  of  anarchism  (meaning 
anti-Government  manifestations)  is  merely  the  extension  and 
revival  of  Hinduism.  [Ib.,  358.  See  the  chapter  on  Re- 
ligious Nationalism.'] 

The  Afghan  Mohammedans  have  entertained  the  belief  that 
once  the  Jehad,  or  Holy  War,  has  been  proclaimed,  the 
numerous  battalions  of  the  infidel  become  powerless  against 
a  handful  of  the  Ghazis,  or  soldiers  of  the  faith.  [S. 
Wheeler,  The  Ameer  Abdur  Rahman,  £16.  London,  1895.] 
This  belief  paved  the  way  for  the  Mad  Mullah  who  led  the 
attack  against  the  British  in  Malakand  in  1897,  and  who 
was  a  bountiful  worker  of  miracles.  "  He  sat  at  his  house, 
and  all  who  came  to  visit  him,  brought  him  a  small  offering 
of  food  or  money,  in  return  for  which  he  gave  them  a  little 
rice.  As  his  stores  were  continually  replenished,  he  might 
claim  to  have  fed  thousands.  He  asserted  that  he  was  in- 


110  Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

visible  at  night.  Looking  into  his  room  they  saw  no  one. 
At  these  things  they  marvelled.  Finally  he  declared  he  would 
destroy  the  infidel.  He  wanted  no  help.  No  one  should 
share  the  honors.  The  heavens  would  open  and  an  army 
would  descend.  The  more  he  protested  he  did  not  want 
them,  the  more  exceedingly  they  came.  Incidentally  he 
mentioned  that  they  would  be  invulnerable;  other  agents 
added  arguments.  I  was  shown  a  captured  scroll,  upon 
which  the  tomb  of  the  Ghazi  —  he  who  has  killed  an  infidel  — 
is  depicted  in  heaven,  no  fewer  than  seven  degrees  above  the 
Caaba  itself.  Even  after  the  fighting  —  when  the  tribesmen 
reeled  back  from  the  terrible  army  they  had  assailed,  leaving 
a  quarter  of  their  number  on  the  field  —  the  faith  of  the 
survivors  was  unshaken.  Only  those  who  had  doubted  had 
perished,  said  the  Mullah,  and  displayed  a  bruise  which  was, 
he  informed  them,  the  sole  effect  of  a  twelve-pound  shrapnel 
shell  on  his  sacred  person."  [W.  L.  S.  Churchill,  The  Story 
of  the  Maldkand  Field  Force,  41-2.] 

Though  the  emperor  Akbar,  of  the  Moghul  dynasty 
(1542-1605)  never  proclaimed  himself  the  Messiah  he  went 
far  to  make  plain  his  similarity  to  the  Messiah.  His  birth- 
day was  on  Sunday,  which,  said  tradition,  was  the  birthday 
of  the  Messiah ;  his  mother  was  called,  with  his  approval, 
Miriam-makani,  i.  e.,  "  of  the  household  of  Mary."  He 
claimed  the  power  to  perform  many  miracles :  to  heal  dis- 
eases ;  cause  rain  to  fall  or  to  cease;  and  allowed  it  to  be  said 
of  him  that  he  had  spoken  when  a  babe  in  the  cradle,  which 
same,  said  tradition,  Jesus  Christ  had  done.  He  made  of 
himself  a  priest-king.1  [Akbar,  Hastings'  E.R.E.,  I,  272. 
J.  P.  Jones,  India,  Its  Life  and  Thought,  311.  New  York, 
1908,  Sir  W.  W.  Hunter,  Brief  History  of  the  Indian  Peo- 

i  The  only  Life  of  Jesus  prior  to  the  time  of  Reimarus,  who  wrote  in 
the  first  half  of  the  eighteenth  century,  which  possesses  any  interest  for 
the  theologian,  was  composed  by  a  Jesuit  in  the  Persian  language,  and 
was  designed  for  the  use  of  the  Moghul  Emperor,  Akhbar.  The  au- 
thor, Hieronymus  Xavier,  was  an  Indian  Missionary,  and  a  nephew 
of  Francis  Xavier.  It  was  a  skilful  falsification  of  the  life  of  Christ, 
by  omissions  and  additions  from  the  Apocrypha,  "inspired  by  the  sole 
purpose  of  presenting  to  the  open-minded  ruler  a  glorious  Jesus,  in 
whom  there  should  be  nothing  to  offend  him."  [Schweitzer,  The  Quest 
of  the  Historical  Jesus,  13-4.  English  Translation.  London,  1911.] 


The  Mahdi:  The  Messiah  of  Mohammedanism      111 

pies,  137-8.  Oxford,  1907.] 

The  Zikris,  a  Mohammedan  sect  of  Baluchistan,  believe 
that  their  founder,  Dost  Mohammad,  was  the  twelfth  Mahdi. 
His  abode,  Koh-i-Murad,  near  Turbat,  takes  the  place  of 
Mecca  as  the  object  of  their  pilgrimages.  [Baluchistan, 
Hastings'  E.R.E.,  II,  S40.] 

Some  sects  in  India,  to  whom  the  name  of  "  Ghair 
Mahdi'm  "  ("  not  expecting  a  Mahdi  ")  is  given,  believe  the 
promised  Mahdi  has  already  appeared.  In  the  District  of 
Kirman,  Baluchistan,  they  still  say  that  the  Mahdi  appeared 
about  the  end  of  the  fifteenth  century  in  the  person  of  Mu- 
hammad of  Jaunpur,  who,  expelled  from  India,  died,  after 
many  wanderings,  in  1505,  in  the  valley  of  Helmend.  This 
sect  is  known  as  the  "  Dhikri."  The  Da'ire  wale,  a  similar 
sect  living  in  the  province  of  Mysore,  declared  the  Mahdi  ap- 
peared more  than  four  hundred  years  ago.  [Ghair  Mahdi, 
Hastings'  E.R.E.,  VI,  189.] 

The  Mahdi  in  Persia  and  Syria 

In  940  A.  D.  the  Twelfth  Imam  disappeared  into  a  well. 
He  still  lives  in  Jabulka,  or  Jabuka,  whence  he  is  expected 
to  reappear  as  the  Mahdi  or  Kaim.  In  communication  with 
him  were  four  persons,  known  as  Bab  or  Gate,  transmitters 
of  messages  from  the  Imam  to  his  faithful  followers.  Mirza 
Ali  Mohammed  of  Shiraz  was  one  of  these  Bab  who  later 
advanced  in  station  claiming  to  be  the  Kaim  or  Mahdi.  He 
dared  proclaim  his  manifestation  in  Mecca  itself.  After  his 
death  many  of  his  followers  claimed  to  be  the  promised  one. 
There  was  a  chaos  of  manifestations  sorely  puzzling  the  most 
faithful,  not  to  mention  the  Turkish  Government.  It  had 
been  prophesied  that  the  Kaim  would  behead  seventy  thou- 
sand mullahs  like  dogs,  and  it  was  not  so  easy  to  lay  the 
ghost  or  allay  the  fears. 

The  Bab  who  appeared  at  Ispahan,  Persia,  about  the  mid- 
dle of  the  nineteenth  century,  and  of  whom  more  will  be 
said  in  the  discussion  of  the  political  significance  of  messi- 
anic movements,  was  the  embodiment  of  this  long  deferred 
hope  for  a  redeemer  and  savior.  Many  followed  him.  [An 


112  Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

extensive  account  of  the  Bab  and  of  Babism  will  be  found 
in  S.  G.  Wilson,  Bahaism  and  Its  Claims.  Boston,  1915.  See 
the  same  author,  Persian  Life  and  Customs,  62,  146,  1S'5, 
221.  E.  C.  Sykes,  Persia  and  Its  People,  36,  140-3.  L. 
Oliphant,  Haifa  or  Life  in  Modern  Palestine,  103-7.  V.  De 
Bunsen,  The  Soul  of  a  Turk,  205-7,  251-7.  W.  E.  Curtis, 
To-day  in  Syria  and  Palestine,  219.  Journal  Asiatic,  6th 
series,  Vol.  VII,  329-84.  C.  M.  Remey,  The  Bahai  Move- 
ment. Washington,  D.  C.,  1912.  Isaac  Adams,  Persia  by  a 
Persian,  453-90.  H.  C.  Lukach,  Fringe  of  the  East,  264ff. 
London,  1913.  A.  G.  Browne,  A  Literary  History  of  Persia. 
London,  1902.  Browne,  The  Babis  of  Persia,  in  Journal  of 
the  Royal  Asiatic  Society,  1889,  Vol.  21,  p.  485ff.,  881ff., 
and  articles  by  Browne  on  Bab,  Babis,  in  Hastings'  Ency. 
of  Religion  and  Ethics,  and  in  the  Ency.  Britt.,  llth  edition. 
In  1915  the  New  York  Public  Library  published  a  long  list 
of  works  relating  to  Babism  and  Bahaism.] 

Bahaism,  which  developed  out  of  Babism,  has  a  leader 
whose  messiahship  is  abundantly  proclaimed.  Some  repre- 
sent Baha  as  Christ,  while  others  declare  Christ  has  returned 
in  the  person  of  Abdul  Baba  Abbas.  Baha,  indeed,  is  rep- 
resented as  embodying  all  the  promises,  much  as  Ghulam 
Ahmad  Quadiani  embodied  them  in  India.  He  is  "  the  Mes- 
siah for  the  Jews,  God  the  Father,  the  Word,  and  the  Spirit 
for  the  Christians,  Aurora  or  Shah  Bahran  for  the  Zoroas- 
trians,  the  fifth  Buddha  for  the  Buddhists,  reincarnated 
Krishna  for  the  Brahmans,  the  Mahdi  or  the  twelfth  Imam 
or  Husain  for  the  Moslems.  All  are  realized  in  the  coming 
of  Baha  Ullah." 

Bahaism  is  said  to  adapt  its  claims  and  doctrines  to  those 
prevailing  in  the  land  where  it  seeks  to  gain  a  foothold,  show- 
ing in  America  a  different  creed  from  that  flaunted  in  Persia. 
American  Bahais  are  said  to  regard  Baha  as  God  the  Father, 
and  Abdul  Baha  Abbas  as  the  Son  of  God,  Jesus  Christ. 
"  The  promises  and  prophecies  given  in  the  Holy  Scriptures 
have  been  fulfilled  by  the  appearance  of  the  Prince  of  the 
Universe,  the  great  Baba  Ullah  and  of  Abdul  Baha."  [S.  G. 
Wilson,  Bahaism,  92ff.]  One  writer  declares  the  whole 
Bahaj  movement  "  a  counterfeit  of  the  Messiahship  of 


The  Mahdi:  The  Messiah  of  Mohammedanism      113 

Christ."  [G.  W.  Holmes,  in  Speer,  Missions  and  Modern 
History,  I,  169.  See  also,  W.  A.  Shedd  in  Missionary  Re- 
view of  the  World,  1911.] 

In  1866-7,  Baha  Ullah  (or  Baha'u'llah),  who  had  been 
gradually  displacing  Subhi-Ezel  as  leader  of  the  Babi  sect, 
proclaimed  his  messiahship  as  "  He  whom  God  shall  mani- 
fest," declaring  the  Bab  had  been  but  the  herald  of  his 
coming. 

Baha  Ullah  and  his  followers  were  sent  to  Acre,  for  his 
claims  caused  a  division  among  the  Babis  and  much  ill-feeling. 
The  strength  of  his  opponents  waned  rapidly  and  that  of 
Baha  Ullah  grew  apace.  Acre  became  the  center  of  a  living 
force  that  spread  abroad  and  attracted  to  the  little  Syrian 
town  pilgrims  from  all  parts  of  the  globe. 

When  Baha  Ullah  died,  in  1892,  his  son,  Abbas,  generally 
known  now  as  Abbas  Effendi,  or  as  Abdul  Baha,  became  his 
successor,  and  since  then  the  sect  has  been  known,  after  him, 
as  the  Bahai.  In  1913  the  number  of  Bahaists  was  com- 
puted as  more  than  two  million  adherents  —  Persian  and  In- 
dian Shiahs,  Sunis  from  the  Turkish  Empire  and  North 
Africa,  Brahmans,  Buddhists,  Taoists,  Shintoists,  Jews,  and 
Christian  converts  in  Europe  and  the  United  States. 

One  student  of  the  sect  has  called  it  "  a  thing  which  may 
revivify  Islam,  and  make  great  changes  on  the  face  of  the 
Asiatic  world."  [Lukach,  op.  cit.,  £64^7.]  So  far  it  seems 
to  have  exerted  little  or  no  political  power. 

Many  accounts  have  been  written  about  Abbas  Effendi, 
the  God  incarnate,  for  whom,  say  his  followers,  the  Bab  was 
only  a  forerunner.  An  American  devotee  writes,  under  date 
of  Washington,  D.  C.,  November  19,  1899,  "  regarding  the 
'  Holy  City  '  and  the  Blessed  Master,  who  dwells  therein : 

"  Although  my  stay  in  Acca  was  very  short,  as  I  was  there 
only  three  days,  yet  I  assure  you  these  three  days  were  the 
most  memorable  days  of  my  life,  still  I  feel  incapable  of 
describing  them  in  the  slightest  degree. 

"  From  a  material  standpoint  everything  was  very  simple 
and  plain,  but  the  spiritual  atmosphere  which  pervaded  the 
place,  and  was  manifested  in  the  lives  and  actions  among  the 
Believers,  was  truly  wonderful,  and  something  I  had  never 


Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

before  experienced.  One  needs  but  to  see  them  to  know  that 
the}^  are  a  Holy  people. 

"  The  Master  I  will  not  attempt  to  describe ;  I  will  only 
state  that  I  believe  with  all  my  heart  that  he  is  the  Master, 
and  my  greatest  blessing  in,  this  world  is  that  I  have  been 
privileged  to  be  in  His  presence  and  look  upon  His  sanctified 
face.  His  life  is  truly  the  Christ  life  and  His  whole  being 
radiates  purity  and  Holiness ! 

"  Without  a  doubt  Abbas  Effendi  is  the  Messiah  of  this 
day  and  generation,  and  we  need  not  look  for  another. 

"  Hoping  you  will  find  the  joy  that  has  come  into  my 
life,  from  accepting  the  truth  as  revealed  in  these  great 
days,  .  .  ." 

A  similar  message  comes  from  Washington  under  date  of 
December  5,  1899. 

"  It  seems  to  me,"  says  this  devotee,  "  a  real  Truth-seeker 
would  know  at  a  glance  that  He  is  the  Master !  Withal  I 
must  say  He  is  the  Most  Wonderful  Being  I  have  ever  met  or 
expect  to  meet  in  this  world.  Though  He  does  not  seek  to 
impress  one  at  all,  strength,  power,  purity,  love,  and  holiness 
are  radiated  from  His  majestic,  yet  humble,  personality,  and 
the  spiritual  atmosphere  which  surrounds  Him,  and  most 
powerfully  affects  all  those  who  are  blessed  by  being  near 
Him,  is  indescribable.  His  ideas  and  sentiments  are  of  the 
loftiest  and  most  chaste  character,  while  His  great  love  and 
devotion  for  humanity  surpasses  everything  I  have  ever 
before  encountered.  I  believe  in  Him  with  all  my  heart  and 
soul,  and  I  hope  all  who  call  themselves  Believers  will  concede 
to  Him  all  the  greatness,  all  the  glory,  and  all  the  praise, 
for  surely  he  is  the  Son  of  God  —  and  *  the  Spirit  of  the 
Father  abideth  in  Him.' 

"  Regarding  the  Household,  I  found  them  all  quiet,  holy 
people,  living  only  for  the  purpose  of  serving  in  the  Cause 
of  God.  They  dress  very  plainly,  but  with  a  grace  that 
gives  a  sort  of  grandeur  to  their  most  humble  abode.  The 
purity  of  their  morals  is  evident  from  the  calm,  benign  and 
guileless  faces,  which  characterize  them  as  a  people.  To 
become  spiritually  more  and  more  like  them,  and  like  the 
Blessed  Master,  is  my  daily  supplication  to  God." 


The  Mahdi:  The  Messiah  of  Mohammedanism      115 

Another  American  writes  that  she  was  allowed  to  enter 
"  the  special  garden  of  the  Manifestation,  the  one  (accord- 
ing to  Dr.  Kheiralla)  described  in  the  prophecies  thus:  '  The 
place  of  my  throne  is  part  on  the  water  and  part  on  the 
land,  under  a  green  tent  that  has  neither  ropes  nor  a  center 
pole  to  sustain  it.'  .  .  .  The  spiritual  atmosphere  of  this  place 
was  overwhelming ;  our  tears  fell  like  rain  over  our  faces,  and 
some  of  the  Believers  with  us  cried  aloud.  Indeed,  to  enter 
this  room  is  a  great  blessing.  I  have  felt  nearer  to  God  since 
that  day !  On  the  chair  was  a  wreath  of  flowers,  and  some 
beautiful  cut  roses  placed  there  by  the  Greatest  Branch,  who 
commanded  that  they  should  be  given  to  us ;  also  four  large 
oranges,  which  were  on  the  table  opposite,  as  we  left  that 
most  sacred  place. 

"  From  here  we  were  taken  to  the  tomb  of  the  Manifesta- 
tion, and  you  must  excuse  me  if  I  do  not  enter  into  details 
about  this ;  I  cannot  find  words  to  express  myself ;  suffice  it 
to  say,  that  the  Greatest  Branch  let  me  walk  in  His  footsteps 
and  led  me  by  the  hand  into  this  sacred  place,  where  I  knelt 
down  and  begged  of  God  to  cleanse  my  heart  of  all  impurity 
and  kindle  within  it  the  fire  of  His  love.  I  also  remembered 
there  the  Assembly  in  Chicago  and  begged  God's  blessing  to 
be  showered  upon  you.  After  this  visit  we  walked  in  the 
garden  and  our  Lord,  with  His  own  blessed  hands,  picked 
flowers  and  leaves,  which  he  gave  us  to  take  to  the  faithful 
Believers  in  America. 

"  That  night  He  sat  us  all  by  the  table,  and  dismissed  the 
servants,  saying  He  would  serve  us  Himself,  and  He  did  so. 
He  did  not  sit  at  the  table  with  us,  but  waited  upon  us !  At 
the  conclusion  of  the  meal  He  said :  *  I  have  served  you 
to-night  that  you  may  learn  the  lesson  of  ever  serving  your 
fellow-creatures  with  love  and  kindness.'  He  bade  us  good- 
night and  advised  us  all  to  rest  early,  so  we  went  to  bed 
and  this  night  I  had  a  long  delicious  sleep  and  rest. 

"  The  next  morning  he  brought  me  a  most  beautiful  bunch 
of  white  narcissus  and  allowed  me  to  kiss  His  blessed  hand 
as  He  gave  them  to  me.  He  sat  down  and  drank  tea  with 
us,  then  rose  and  bade  us  '  adieu,'  as  we  were  going  back 
to  Haifa  that  day  and  He  had  been  called  away.  As  we 


116  Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

were  quitting  the  city  we  saw  Him  standing  by  the  gate,  and 
He  smiled  at  us  as  we  passed.  Then  we  returned  '  by  the 
road  in  the  sea  '  to  Haifa,  our  hearts  both  happy  and  sorrow- 
ful, happy  because  we  had  seen  Him  and  sorrowful  because 
we  were  leaving  Him. 

"  Oh,  dear  people,  make  firm  your  faith  and  belief,  for 
truly  He  is  our  Lord.  It  seems  to  me  that  no  one  could 
doubt  should  He  smile  upon  them,  and  no  one  could  turn 
from  Him  should  he  seek  to  confirm  them !  But  this  He  will 
not  do,  as  God  had  declared  that  each  must  seek  to  confirm 
himself  and  gave  to  each  of  us  the  power  or  will  for  that 
purpose.  I  feel  these  words  are  very  weak  and  inadequate, 
but  I  assure  you  no  one  could  describe  this  place  and  'tis 
foolish  to  try  —  to  know  each  must  see  for  himself  —  there- 
fore pray  God  earnestly  that  the  blessing  of  coming  here 
may  soon  be  bestowed.  There  is  no  other  place  in  the  world 
worth  seeing,  and  surely  no  other  King  worthy  of  homage." 

"  This  is  He  who  quenches  the  thirst  from  the  spring  of 
life,"  declares  a  "  Declaration  Addressed  to  Americans." 
"  This  is  He  who  heals  the  sick  with  the  antidote  of  safety 
and  confirms  with  a  flood  of  grace  from  His  Kingdom.  He 
is  of  the  greatest  heirs  to  the  apostles  and  saints,  the  Lord  is 
His  God  and  He  is  His  dearest  Son  (Abdul-Beha)."  [For 
these  and  similar  accounts  see  Isaac  Adams,  Persia;  By  a 
Persian,  468-90.  Grand  Rapids,  Mich.,  no  date.] 

Such  has  been  the  influence  upon  Western  minds  of  the 
Syrian  Messiah,  Abbas  Effendi,  whose  doctrines  are  mystical 
and  symbolical,  but  kindly,  sincere,  and  charged  with  pious 
zeal.  [The  best  account  of  his  teachings  is  that  given  by 
Myron  H.  Phelps,  Life  and  Teachings  of  Abbas  Effendi:  A 
Study  of  the  Religion  of  the  Babis,  or  Beha'is  Founded  by 
the  Persian  Bab  and  His  Successors,  Beha  Ullah  and  Abbas 
Effendi.  Putnam,  1912.  Second  edition.  See  also  art.,  Bab- 
ism  in  New  Inter.  Ency.,  and  article  on  Bahaism  in  America, 
published  in  The  American  Journal  of  Theology,  Jan.,  1902, 
p.  57-8,] 

Though  Bahaism  best  flourishes  on  Syrian  and  other  for- 
eign soil  whence  it  has  been  transported,  messianic  hope  has 
not  departed  from  Persia,  In  the  royal  stables  of  Persia, 


The  Mahdi:  The  Messiah  of  Mohammedanism      117 


is  said,  two  horses  are  kept  saddled  in  readiness  for  the 
Mahdi  and  for  his  lieutenant,  Jesus  the  son  of  Mary.  [E. 
W.  Latimer,  op.  cit.,  76.] 

One  who  travelled  through  Syria  some  thirty  years  ago 
gives  the  following  description: 

"  In  my  time  there  were  two  Christs  in  Syria ;  one  of  them 
a  second-sighted  admirable  person  of  the  Persian  religion, 
had  been  laid  by  the  Ottoman  government  in  *  little-ease  '  at 
Gaza.  The  other  was  between  ignorant  block  and  mystical 
hypocrite,  a  religious  dreamer  at  large.  Born  in  the  Chris- 
tian religion,  this  man  was  by  turns  Jew  and  Mohammedan ; 
'  he  had  God's  name,'  he  told  me  in  a  terrific  voice, 
'  sculptured  between  his  two  eyebrows.'  This  divine  hand- 
writing, be  it  understood,  was  in  Arabic ;  that  is  he  had 
dimples,  as  a  triglyph,  or  somewhat  resembling  the  trace 
(in  Arabic)  Allah.  Herein  he  would  covertly  convey, 
among  us  Christians,  was  his  mystical  name,  divine!  and  he 
was  himself  Messias  of  the  second  appearing.  He  was  born 
in  Latakia,  and  in  this  also,  through  barbarous  ignorance 
of  the  Greek  letters,  he  found  a  witness  of  the  Scriptures 
unto  himself.  He  prophesied  to  them  with  a  lofty  confidence, 
that  the  day  was  toward,  when  he  should  ride  forth  from 
Damascus'  horsemarket  unto  his  eternal  glory,  and,  all  things 
being  fulfilled  in  himself,  the  children  of  Adam  should  return 
unto  their  Lord  God,  to  be  manifested  in  the  whole  world. 
He  was  a  Moslem  among  the  Moslemin.  I  heard  their 
ribalds  deride  this  self-godded  man  upon  a  time  as  I  walked 
with  him  in  their  cathedral  mosque,  and  he  went  on  saying 
(especially  where  we  met  with  any  simple  hareem,  near  the 
gates)  in  an  immense  murmured  voice,  '  How  great  is  Mo- 
hammed !  yea,  O  ye  people !  he  is  the  Apostle  of  Allah ! ' 
They  mocked  him  with  '  Hail,  Neby!'  Of  the  Christians 
no  man  trusted  him.  Yet  I  have  heard  simple  women,  half 
in  awe  of  a  man  of  so  high  pretense,  beg  of  him  to  foresay 
to  them  the  event  of  these  dangerous  times, — '  whether  the 
Nasara  would  be  massacred  ?  '  And  he  in  mighty  tones 
prophesied  to  them  comfortable  things;  he  said  they  should 
have  no  hurt,  these  troubles  should  assuage  shortly  and 
Christ's  kingdom  be  established.  Also  he  could  show,  unto 


118  Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

any  faithful  which  resorted  to  him  in  certain  hours,  the 
testimony  of  miracles ;  for  with  solemn  gesture,  the  divine 
man  waved  his  hands  over  a  little  water,  then  he  breathed 
in  mystic  wise,  and  spread  his  hands,  and  behold  it  was  made 
wine:  and  such  had  been  seen  by  a  simple  Christian  person 
of  my  familiar  acquaintance.  Upon  a  time  finding  him  in 
the  street  I  bade  him  wend  with  me  of  his  charity,  to  the 
house  of  fools,  el-Moristan;  by  his  holy  power  with  God, 
we  might  heal  a  mad  body:  he  granted.  There  entering, 
when  we  had  passed  bars  and  gates  he  received  from  the  por- 
ter a  cup  of  water  in  his  hand,  and  led  me  confidently  to 
the  poor  men  in  durance.  He  had  promised  if  we  found 
any  raging  one,  with  only  the  name  of  Allah  to  appease  him : 
but  as  all  was  still,  he  approached  a  poor  man  who  sat  in  a 
cage,  and  enquired  his  name  and  country  and  condition. 
The  sad  prisoner  answered  to  all  things  well  and  civilly ;  and 
the  blatant  man  of  God,  when  he  cried  Allah!  and  breathed 
with  an  awesomeness  upon  the  water,  gave  him  through  the 
bars  his  bowl,  bidding  him  drink  measurably  thereof,  and  if 
the  Lord  would  he  should  come  to  his  health:  the  unhappy 
man  received  it  very  thankfully.  '  Thou  hast  seen !  '  ( said 
this  doer  of  miracles),  '  now  we  may  return.'  After  a  week 
he  sent  me  his  divine  word  that  the  dangerous  madcap  had 
mended,  and  was  *  about  to  be  sent  home  as  a  man  in  his 
right  mind  ' ;  —  and  I  did  not  believe  him!  This  wonder- 
worker, after  walking  through  all  Christian  sects  and  Juda- 
ism, had  gone  over  to  the  Mohammedan  profession,  in  that 
hoping,  said  his  Christian  neighbors,  to  come  again  to  his 
own :  and  this  was,  after  he  had  put  out  his  little  patrimony 
at  an  iniquitous  usury,  to  insolvent  Moslems :  —  they  having 
devoured  the  Nasrany's  good,  derided  him;  and  a  Christian 
has  little  or  no  hope  in  the  Mohammedan  judgment  seats. 
The  forlorn  had  fallen  between  the  stools  of  his  natural  and 
his  adopted  religions,  and  his  slender  living  was  passed  from 
his  own  into  other  shrews'  hands ;  and  there  was  all  his  grief : 
the  apostate  found  no  charity  in  either.  The  Christian  peo- 
ple's whisper  even  imputed  to  him  an  atrocious  guilt.  In 
better  days  a  boy  had  served  him,  and  he  was  known  to  beat 
him  more  and  more.  Some  while  after,  when  the  boy  was 


The  Mahdi:  The  Messiah  of  Mohammedanism      119 

not  found,  the  neighbors  said  between  their  teeth,  '  he  has 
murdered  the  lad  and  buried  him ! '  When  I  last  saw  him 
the  religion-monger  was  become  a  sadder  and  a  silent  man; 
the  great  sot  had  now  a  cross  coaled  upon  his  cottage  door, 
in  the  Christian  quarter.  He  said  then  with  a  hollow  throat, 
'  he  was  but  a  sinner,'  and  denied  to  me,  shaking  out  his 
raiment  with  an  affected  horror,  that  ever  such  as  I  alleged 
had  been  his  former  pretension.  '  Nay  ah !  and  Ah  nay ! ' 
The  soothsayer  would  persuade  me  that  '  all  was  but  the 
foolish  people's  saying.'  I  found  him  poring  and  half  weep- 
ing over  a  written  book,  which  he  told  me  was  '  marvellous 
wise  and  healthful  to  the  soul,  and  the  copying  it  had  cost 
him  much  silver.'  The  argument  was  of  God's  creatures,  the 
beasts,  and  showing  how  every  beast  (after  that  of  the  psalm, 
*  Praise  the  Lord  from  the  earth,  all  beasts,  creeping  things, 
and  feathered  fowl ')  yieldeth  life-worship  unto  God.  He 
read  me  aloud  his  last  lesson  '  Of  the  voices  of  the  living  crea- 
tures,' and  coming  down  to  the  camel,  I  said,  '  Hold  there  f 
every  camel-voice  is  like  a  blasphemy :  it  is  very  blasphemous.' 
Said  he :  '  Thou  art  mistaken,  that  brutish  bellowing  in  his 
throat  is  the  camel's  making  moan  unto  Allah. —  See  further 
it  is  written  here!  —  his  prayer  for  patience  under  oppres- 
sion, inasmuch  as  he  is  made  a  partner  in  man's  affliction.' 
Neighbors  now  told  me  the  most  sustenance  of  this  sorrow- 
ful man,  past  the  lining  of  his  purse,  to  be  of  herbs,  which 
cooling  diet  he  had  large  leave  to  gather  for  himself  in  the 
wild  fields."  [C.  M.  Doughty,  Arabia  Deserta,  p.  171-3. 
Cambridge,  1888.] 


CHAPTER  III 

THE    BUDDHIST    MESSIAH 

IT  has  been  asserted  that  the  conception  of  history  as  a 
moving  forward  rather  than  a  moving  backward  or  a 
see-saw,  has  arisen  independently  only  among  two  peoples  — 
in  Zoroastrianism  and  in  Hebraism.  [See  Sb'derblom's  arti- 
cle on  Ages  of  the  World  (Zoroastrian)  in  Hastings'  E.R.E., 
I,  210.]  Some  of  these  older  ideas  have  filtered  into  the 
later  Buddhist  cult,  but  have  not  borne  much  fruit.  The 
reason  is  not  far  to  seek.  The  messianic  hope  is  fostered 
in  discontent,  born  of  a  desire  to  arise  above  one's  surround- 
ings and  impose  a  new  impetus  upon  the  controlling  regime. 
Buddhism  is  a  religion  of  submission  rather  than  one  of 
active  resistance.  It  looks  for  salvation  through  accepting 
rather  than  rejecting  the  existing  order  of  things.  It  conse- 
quently offers  little  incentive  to  any  would-be  Messiah. 
Moreover,  the  people  among  whom  Buddhism  flourishes  have 
an  easy-going,  submissive  character  in  keeping  with  their 
religious  doctrine.  They  furnish  relatively  few  elements  of 
unrest  to  pave  the  way  for  a  Messiah;  they  give  out  few 
despairing  or  even  plaintive  notes  to  invite  his  advent  and 
assistance.  There  is  little  incentive  to  earthly  salvation 
for  him  who  believes : 

This  body  is  a  nest  of  loathly  sores, 

A  dark  and  shiny  skin  doth  wrap  it  round: 
And  from  a  thousand  thousand  oozing  pores 

It  sendeth  out  its  stenches  like  an  open  wound. 

Christian  nations  have  been  committed  —  and  some  say  the 
New  Testament  justifies  it  —  to  a  policy  of  aggressive  de- 
fense, while,  in  the  spirit  of  Buddhism, 

120 


The  Buddhist  Messiah 

The  East  bowed  low  before  the  blast, 

In  patient,  deep  disdain; 
She  let  the  legions  thunder  past, 

And  plunged  in  thought  again. 

[S.  K.  Saunders,  The  Heart  of  Buddhism;  and  The  Story 
of  Buddhism,  25.  New  York,  1916.] 

The  spirit  of  Hinduism  and  of  Buddhism  is  not  one  of 
regeneration. — "  It  is  only  a  vague  postponement  of  the 
moral  issues  of  the  soul.  There  is  recognized  no  future  in- 
tervention that  can  effect  a  change  in  the  downward  drift. 
They  emphasise  the  fact  that  according  to  the  sowing  shall 
be  the  reaping,  and  that  in  no  part  of  the  universe  can  ill 
desert  escape  its  rewards.  There  is  no  hint  that  any  pity- 
ing eye  of  God  or  devil  looks  upon  the  struggle,  or  any  arm 
is  stretched  forth  to  raise  up  the  crippled  and  helpless  soul. 
Time  is  the  only  Savior  —  time  so  vague,  so  distant,  that 
the  mind  cannot  follow  its  cycles  or  trace  the  relations  of 
cause  and  effect."  [Ellinwood,  Oriental  Religions  and 
Christianity,  347.  Cf.  art.,  Jesus  Christ,  by  W.  D.  Mac- 
Kenzie,  in  Hastings'  E.R.E.,  VII,  505,  for  comparison  with 
Christianity.] 

But  neither  messianic  faith  nor  action  in  accordance  with 
it  is  entirely  absent.  Avalokita,  the  Buddhist  "  all-sided 
one,"  whose  face  is  turned  in  every  direction  in  order  to  see 
everything  and  save  everybody,  is  a  savior  far  superior  to 
the  other  great  Bodhisattvas  —  as  the  future  Buddhas  are 
called  —  to  think  of  whom  is  better  than  to  do  honor  to  thou- 
sands of  Buddhas.  At  the  end  of  our  age  he  will  appear  as 
the  thousandth  and  last  Buddha  of  the  age.  [See  the  fol- 
lowing articles  in  Hastings'  E.R.E.:  AValokitesvara,  II, 
256-61.  Bodhisattva,  II,  739-53.  Adibuddha,  I,  93-100. 
Lotus  of  the  True  Law,  VIII,  145-6.  (All  by  L.  De  La 
Vallee  Poussin.)  Arhat,  J,  774-5  (by  T.  W.  Rhys  Davids). 
Incarnation  (Buddhist),  VII,  187-8;  (Indian),  193-7). 
Moggalava,  VIII,  768-70.  Moksa,  Ib.,  770-4.] 

Manjusri,  one  of  the  Buddhistic  "  gods,"  declared  in  his 
bodhisattva  vow  that  he  did  not  wish  to  become  a  Buddha 
quickly,  because  he  wished  to  remain  to  the  last  in  this  world 


122  Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

in  order  to  save  its  beings.  [Art.,  Manjusri,  in  Hastings' 
E.R.E.,  VIII,  405,  n.  2  (by  Poussin).] 

The  Buddhist  expectation  of  a  King  of  Kings  was  partly 
political,  partly  philosophical  or  religious  in  origin,  and  has 
many  elements  in  common  with  the  Jewish  messianic  expec- 
tation. Gotama,  the  later  accepted  Buddha,  was  the  fulfil- 
ment of  these  hopes  only  in  the  limited  degree  that  Jesus 
was  the  fulfilment  of  earlier  Jewish  hopes.  Gotama  exceeded 
in  spiritual  loftiness  the  prediction  of  a  King  of  Kings  as 
much  as  Jesus  exceeded  the  prediction  of  the  Messiah ;  never- 
theless, he  partially  filled  the  earlier  demand,  and  had  not 
Gotama  risen  to  the  occasion  some  other  would  have  en- 
deavored to  do  so.  [T.  W.  Rhys  Davids,  Lectures  on  the 
Origin  and  Growth  of  Religion  as  Illustrated  by  Some  Points 
in  the  History  of  Indian  Buddhism,  129-50.  London,  1897. 
Ch.  XII,  The  Christ  and  the  Buddha,  in  J.  P.  Jones,  India, 
Its  Life  and  Thought.  New  York,  1908.] 

The  way  for  the  advent  of  a  Messiah  is  paved  by  the  belief 
that  Krishna  will  return  at  the  end  of  all  time,  when  physical 
and  moral  need  have  reached  their  acme  upon  earth.  In  the 
clouds  of  heaven  he  will  appear  upon  his  white  steed.  With 
a  comet  in  his  right  hand,  as  a  sword  of  flame,  he  will  destroy 
the  old  earth  by  fire,  found  a  new  earth  and  a  new  heaven, 
and  establish  a  golden  age  of  purity  and  perfection  in  which 
there  will  be  nothing  but  pure  joy  and  blessedness.  [Arthur 
Drews,  The  Christ  Myth,  107.] 

The  tenth  avatar  of  Hinduism  is  to  come  at  a  time  of 
great  and  universal  wickedness  and  establish  a  kingdom  of 
righteousness  on  the  earth.  So  similar  is  this  expectation 
to  the  Christian  messianic  hope  that  "  some  years  ago  the 
Rev.  John  Newton,  of  Lahore,  took  advantage  of  this  pre- 
diction and  wrote  a  tract  showing  that  the  true  deliverer  and 
king  of  righteousness  had  already  come  in  the  person  of 
Jesus  Christ.  So  striking  seemed  the  fulfilment  viewed  from 
the  Hindu  standpoint,  that  some  hundreds  in  the  city  of 
Rampore  were  led  to  a  faith  in  Christ  as  an  avatar  of 
Vishnu."  [Ellinwood,  282-3.  J.  T.  Sunderland,  The  Bible, 
Its  Origin,  Growth,  etc.  New  York,  1898.  J.  P.  Jones, 
India,  Its  Life  and  Thought.  New  York,  1908.] 


The  Buddhist  Messiah  123 

Early  Hindoo  and  Chinese  traditions  refer  to  Buddha's 
return  from  heaven  in  the  flesh.  His  arrival  is  to  be  attested 
by  miracles.  He  will  establish  a  kingdom  of  heavenly  truth 
and  justice,  will  die  and  return  to  heaven.  "  I  am  about  to 
descend  and  be  born  among  men,  simply  to  give  peace  and 
rest  to  all  flesh,  and  to  remove  all  sorrow  and  grief  from  the 
world."  [Ernest  De  Bunsen,  The  Angel-Messiah  of  Bud- 
dhists, Essenes,  and  Christians.  London,  1880.] 

In  generating  messianic  hope  the  Japanese  seem  to  have 
outstripped  their  slower  Eastern  neighbors.  It  is  reported, 
though  confessedly  not  on  the  best  of  evidence,  that  about 
A.  D.  50,  a  Brahmanical  sect  was  introduced  into  Japan,  the 
doctrine  of  which  was  the  redemption  of  the  world  by  the 
son  of  a  virgin,  who  died  to  expiate  the  sins  of  men,  thus 
ensuring  to  them  a  joyful  resurrection.  [Manners  and 
Customs  of  the  Japanese  m  the  Nineteenth  Century,  247. 
New  York,  184*1.  John  L.  Atkinson,  Prince  Siddartha: 
The  Japanese  Buddha.  Boston,  1893.]  Possessions  and  in- 
carnations are  frequent  phenomena  among  this  people  and  do 
much  to  pave  the  way  to  intense  religious  zeal.  [Percival 
Lowell,  Occult  Japan,  97-192,] 

The  most  remarkable  of  Japanese  Messiahs  appeared  but 
a  few  years  ago  (1910)  on  the  streets  of  Tokyo,  wearing  a 
frock  coat  of  foreign  make  and  a  sleeveless  haori  over  it. 
This  Buddha,  or  Christ,  bore  the  name  of  Miyazaki.  On  the 
haori  were  characters  meaning  Prophet,  Buddha,  and  Mes- 
siah. He  had  been  what  the  Japanese  call  a  soshi,  one  of  the 
class  of  the  politically  discontented,  or,  as  an  unsympathetic 
writer  has  defined  it,  "  one  of  the  turbulent  class  who  suffer 
from  too  much  education  and  too  little  to  eat,  and  who  are 
at  the  root  of  every  disturbance."  He  had  been  a  journalist. 
He  now  published  a  book  called  My  New  Gospel,  in  which  he 
set  forth  his  claims  as  the  Messiah-Buddha, — "  The  consum- 
mation of  all  the  prophecies  since  the  beginning  of  the 
world."  In  the  year  of  his  appearance  and  self-proclama- 
tion he  claimed  about  fifty  followers.  [Lady  Lawson,  High- 
ways and  Homes  of  Japan,  284.  London,  1910.  The  subse- 
quent fate  of  this  sect  I  have  not  been  able  to  discover,  and 
my  efforts  to  obtain  a  copy  of  Miyazaki's  work  have,  so  far, 


Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

been  fruitless.] 

The  Lamas  place  their  "  Coming  Buddha,"  or  Mes- 
siah, in  the  West  and  anticipate  his  arrival  from  that 
point  of  the  compass  Some  have  urged  that  the  Tsar 
was  the  fulfillment  of  this  wish.  But  the  sect  of 
Lamaism  known  as  Ge-lug,  or  Yellow  Hats,  derive  their 
divine  inspiration  from  the  living  Buddhist  Messiah, 
Maitreya,  "  the  next  coming  Buddha,  as  revealed  through 
the  succession  of  Indian  saints  from  Asanga  down  to  Atisa, 
and  through  the  Tibetan  saints  from  Atisa's  disciple  Brom- 
ton  downwards  to  Tsong-Kha-pa."  [L.  A.  Waddell,  Lhasa 
and  Its  Mifsteries,  31,  369.  London,  1905.  Art.,  Lamaism, 
Hastings'  E.R.E.,  VII,  787 ;  Maitreya,  Vol.  VIII.] 

Nor  have  Buddhists  in  other  lands  given  up  the  expecta- 
tion of  the  return  of  a  divine  being  in  human  form  who  will 
save  men's  bodies  as  well  as  their  souls.  According  to  the 
Theosophists  there  is  in  India  at  this  time,  in  the  person  of 
Alcyone,  or  J.  Krishnamurta,  one  of  these  messianic  reincar- 
nations. [G.  Herbert  Whyte,  The  Great  Teachers.  Theo- 
sophical  Publishing  House,  London,  1913.  Alcyone  (J. 
Krishnamurti) ,  At  the  Feet  of  the  Master.  Theosophical 
Publishing  House,  Los  Angeles,  Cal.  No  date.]  Gorakh- 
nath,  the  patron  saint  of  the  Indian  State  Gorkha,  is  ubiqui- 
tous and  all  powerful,  the  representative  of  the  god  Siva, 
or  even  a  form  of  that  god.  May  not  the  living  man  be 
equally  the  representative  of  some  god  —  a  true  Messiah? 
[Gorakhnath,  in  Hastings'  E.R.E.,  VI,  328-30.] 

In  the  desire  for  the  Buddha  there  is  hope  for  one  who 
will  bring  personal  salvation  as  well  as  universal  good,  for 
a  Buddha 

"  Who  from  all  ill  and  sorrow  hast  released 
Me  and  so  many,  many  stricken  folk." 

This  Buddha  will  return  when  there  are  some  who  understand 
the  message  of  salvation.  Not  once  only  will  this  Buddha 
come;  he  will  appear  from  time  to  time,  the  conditions  of 
his  advent  being  considered  in  the  canonical  books  in  the 
light  of  a  natural  law. 


The  Buddhist  Messiah  125 

"  As  on  a  crag,  on  crest  of  mountain  standing, 

A  man  might  watch  the  people  far  below, 
E'en  so  do  Thou,  O  Wisdom  fair,  ascending, 

O  Seer  of  all,  the  terraced  heights  of  truth, 
Look  down,  from  grief  released,  upon  the  nations 

Sunken  in  Grief,  oppressed  with  birth  and  age. 
Arise,  thou  hero !     Conqueror  in  the  battle ! 

Thou  freed  from  debt!     Lord  of  the  pilgrim-band, 
Walk  the  world  o'er,  sublime  and  blessed  Teacher! 

Teach  us  the  Truth  —  there  are  who'll  understand." 

[Rhys  Davids,  in  art.,  Desire,  Hastings'  E.R.E.,  IV,  667-8. 
Pessimism  (Indian),  Ib.,  IX,  811-1 4.] 


CHAPTER  IV 

MESSIANIC    MOVEMENTS    AMONG    THE    NEGROES 

THE  messianic  excitement  carried  to  a  high  pitch  by 
the  "Wilderness  Worshipers"  in  1889  and  1890 
among  the  negroes  along  the  Savannah  river  in  Georgia  and 
South  Carolina,  when  one  man  after  another  proclaimed 
himself  the  Christ  and  promised  miracles,  may  have  had  its 
impetus  in  the  white  man's  domination.  Part  of  the  promise 
held  out  to  his  followers  by  the  first  of  these  Christs,  a  mu- 
latto bearing  the  name  of  Bell,  was  that  the  world  would 
come  to  an  end  on  August  16,  1890 ;  on  which  date  all  ne- 
groes would  fade  into  white  men,  all  white  men  become  black. 
The  promise  of  the  Messiah  carried  a  "  rider  "  to  the  effect 
that  all  those  who  wished  to  ascend  on  the  last  day  must  pur- 
chase wings  from  him.  [Mooney  in  Fourteenth  Annual  Re- 
port of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  Pt.  2.] 

Under  date  of  January  17,  1916,  Prof.  Howard  W.  Odum, 
of  the  University  of  Georgia,  writes  me : 

"  We  had  a  negro  preacher  in  South  Georgia  last  year 
who  claimed  to  be  the  Messiah  and  who  got  considerable  fol- 
lowing from  community  to  community  by  offering  to  heal  the 
sick  and  to  save  the  wicked;  however,  he  charged  a  fee  and 
was  later  arrested  for  obtaining  money  under  false  pre- 
tenses. 

"  Another  one  near  Atlanta  claimed  to  be  the  Messiah  and 
organized  a  sort  of  membership  of  the  blessed  and  set  a  cer- 
tain day  when  he  should  arise  and  fly  into  the  skies.  On  that 
day,  however,  when  a  considerable  number  of  negroes  had 
gathered,  he  failed  to  appear,  and  was  later  arrested  for 
taking  money  under  false  pretenses.  I  have  heard  of  a 
number  of  such  cases,  but  they  are  not  genuine  cases  of  mes- 
sianic aspirations,  in  all  probability." 

At  any  rate  they  show  a  susceptibility  on  the  part  of 

126 


Messianic  Movements  Among  the  Negroes         127 

those  to  whom  the  appeal  is  made,  and  this  susceptibility  is 
probably  somewhat  greater  than  among  their  white  breth- 
ren. Many  of  the  negro  songs,  as  Prof.  Odum  calls  to  my 
attention,  show  a  genuine  feeling  of  companionship  with  the 
Messiah,  whom  they  envisage  realistically.  [See  the  negro 
songs  collected  by  Prof.  Odum  and  published  in  The  Journal 
of  Religious  Psychology,  1910.  Dr.  J.  J.  Watson  has  shown 
me  many  songs  of  similar  import  collected  by  him.] 

To  another  correspondent  I  am  indebted  for  the  following 
information : 

"  In  two  negro  insurrections  that  occurred  in  this  state 
(Virginia),  the  leaders,  if  I  remember  correctly,  claimed 
supernatural  powers  and  authorities. 

"  In  the  opening  years  of  the  last  century  —  during  Gov- 
ernor Monroe's  administration  (1798-1802)  — the  negroes 
near  Richmond  formed  a  plot,  rose  in  large  numbers  and  ad- 
vanced on  Richmond.  Timely  heavy  rains  flooded  the 
creeks  and  retarded  their  advance,  giving  the  whites  time  to 
guard  against  their  attack.  The  leader,  it  was  said,  claimed 
supernatural  guidance  and  power.  Mention  is  made  of  this 
attack  in  the  Virginia  Magazine  of  History  and  Biography, 
published  in  Richmond  by  the  Virginia  Historical  Society. 

"  In  August,  1831,  a  body  of  negroes  (60  to  70)  rose  in 
Southampton  County  and  massacred  55  whites.  Their 
leader,  Nat  Turner,  declared  '  he  had  been  commissioned  by 
Jesus  Christ,  and  that  he  was  acting  under  inspired  direction 
in  what  he  was  going  to  accomplish.' 

"  Howe,  in  his  Virginia,  Its  History  and  Antiquities,  pub- 
lished in  1845  by  Babcock  and  Co.,  Charleston,  South  Caro- 
lina, gives  a  fairly  full  account  of  this  insurrection  in  pages 
471-474.  In  Nat's  confession,  given  on  page  472,  he  says: 

"  '  On  the  twelfth  day  of  May,  1828,  I  heard  a  loud  noise 
in  the  heavens,  and  the  spirit  instantly  appeared  to  me,  and 
said  the  serpent  was  loosened,  and  Christ  had  laid  down  the 
yoke  he  had  borne  for  the  sins  of  men;  and  that  I  should 
take  it  on  and  fight  against  the  serpent,  etc.'  '  [This  rising1 
is  noticed  by  other  Virginia  histories,  and  accounts  of  it  have 
frequently  appeared  in  the  public  prints.  Howe,  in  the 
same  volume,  refers  (p.  126,  127)  to  the  rising  in  Governor 


128  Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

Monroe's  first  administration.  Information  furnished  by 
Mr.  G.  M.  McBryde,  of  Blacksburg,  Virginia,  under  date  of 
March  19,  1916.  W.  E.  B.  Du  Bois,  The  Negro,  196.  New 
York,  1915.] 

A  Santo  Domingo  Messiah  by  the  name  of  Olivero  gained 
prominence  in  that  island  in  1913  and  continued  to  hold  forth 
in  the  mountainous  section  near  the  center  of  the  island  until 
1917,  when  United  States  marines  captured  him  and  put  an 
end  to  his  activities.  He  claimed  supernatural  power  to 
heal  the  sick  and  the  ability  to  perform  miracles. 

Haiti  also  harbored  a  savior  of  his  people.  Like  the  Mes- 
siahs of  the  Plains  Area,  of  the  Sudan,  and  the  "  Mad  Mul- 
lah "  of  India,  he  claimed  to  be  proof  against  bullets.  Faith 
in  this  invulnerability  enabled  him  to  foment  and  lead  several 
revolutions ;  and  other  supernatural  powers  were  attributed 
to  him.  He  was  finally  shot.  [Information  furnished  by 
Mr.  Marian  E.  Beall,  formerly  of  the  U.  S.  Customs  Receiver- 
ship in  Santo  Domingo.] 

In  1856-7,  an  outbreak  among  South  African  tribes 
against  the  British  is  directly  traceable  to  the  misfortunes 
which  the  white  men  had  brought  upon  them.  "  An  im- 
postor, named  Umlanjeni,  predicted  that  if  the  confederate 
tribes  slaughtered  all  their  cattle,  destroyed  every  peck  of 
corn,  and  left  the  ground  untilled  in  the  spring,  that  at  a 
certain  time  their  ancestors  would  rise  and  drive  the  English 
into  the  sea  whence  they  came.  He  further  alleged  that  he 
saw  in  his  visions  the  cattle  belonging  to  the  ancestors  com- 
ing in  huge  droves  over  the  hills,  and  that  after  the  expul- 
sion of  the  English,  every  man  could  have  as  many  as  he  had 
provided  folds  for  the  eventful  day.  The  corn  pits  also 
were  to  be  filled  without  tillage.  This  delusion  took  pos- 
session of  their  fevered  imagination,  and  a  number  of  tribes 
destroyed  every  hoof  and  left  their  corn  lying  in  heaps  to  rot. 
Feasting,  dancing,  and  warlike  demonstrations  occupied  their 
whole  time.  In  vain  the  Government  tried  to  avert  the  im- 
pending ruin."  [MacDonald,  in  Journal  of  the  Anthropo- 
logical Institute  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  Vol.  19,  p. 
280-2,  Du  Bois,  op.  cit.,  91.  The  return  of  the  dead  he- 
roes was  promised.] 


Messianic  Movements  Among  the  Negroes         129 

The  distraught  negroes  of  Nigeria  are  said  to  expect,  as 
a  result  of  Mohammedan  teaching,  that  a  foreign  power  will 
come  into  the  land  and  oppress  them  for  four  years;  then 
the  Mahdi  will  arise  and  the  intruders  will  be  driven  out. 
[G.  D.  Hazzledine,  The  White  Man  m  Nigeria,  31,  224.] 

"  The  measures  taken  by  the  protectorate  of  Nigeria  in 
recent  years  to  regulate  taxation,  emancipate  slaves,  and 
introduce  other  reforms  led  to  the  rise  of  numerous  Mahdis ; 
between  the  years  1900  and  1905  there  were  a  dozen  in 
Sokoto,  and  as  many  in  the  other  provinces.  In  1905 
Mahdis  arose  simultaneously  in  Saturu,  Banchi,  and  Konta- 
gara.  Most  of  these  were  caught,  tried,  and  executed,  the 
government  regarding  such  severity  as  necessary  for  the 
preservation  of  order.  In  1907  there  was  one  Mahdi  at 
Banchi,  '  but  the  situation  was  in  general  satisfactory.'  ' 
[Mahdi  (by  Margoliouth),  in  Hastings'  E.R.E.,  VIII,  340.] 

In  the  Sudan,  as  elsewhere,  good  and  stable  government 
renders  the  appearance  of  Mahdis  rarer  and  rarer  and  their 
adherents  fewer  and  fewer.  "  To  the  question  whether  there 
were  any  relics  of  Mahdiism  in  the  Sudan,  the  Cairene  Jour- 
nal Muqt&if  as  early  as  1902  (XXVII,  1126)  replied  that 
the  introduction  of  security  and  justice  in  the  place  of  the 
long  reign  of  terror  which  that  system  had  produced  had 
effectually  destroyed  its  traces."  [Ib.] 


CHAPTER  V 

MESSIAHS    OF    THE    NORTH    AMERICAN    ABORIGINES 

The  Religious  Experience  of  Primitive  Peoples 

THE  religious  life  of  primitive  peoples  is  usually  pic- 
tured as  one  hedged  around  with  peculiar  restrictions. 
Nothing  is  so  inveterate  as  religious  practice,  nothing  so 
thoroughly  socially  sanctified,  no  restrictions  so  difficult  to 
escape,  as  the  injunctions  of  primitive  religion.  It  is  only 
in  the  higher  forms  of  society,  we  are  insistently  reminded, 
that  the  individual  can  make  his  peace  with  God  after  his 
own  inclination,  and  follow  his  own  plan  of  salvation. 

Though  there  is  much  truth  in  this  description  there  can 
be  no  doubt  that  the  formal  aspects  of  primitive  life  have 
been  over-emphasized.  The  compulsory  aspect  of  primitive 
religious  life  has  been  magnified  into  disproportion,  the  re- 
sultant picture  becoming  a  caricature  rather  than  a  charac- 
terization. 

Primitive  religion  is,  in  fact,  as  rich  in  content  as  in  form. 
In  the  experiences  of  the  Australian  medicine-man  there  is 
a  new  stress  of  values,  a  new  interpretation  of  life  and  be- 
havior comparable  to  the  data  presented  by  William  James 
in  his  Varieties  of  Religious  Experiences.  The  alleged  uni- 
formity does  not  exist.  Among  the  Maori  there  are,  accord- 
ing to  Treagear,  "  some  widely  different  accounts  given  by 
those  who  have  returned  from  the  Under  World."  * 

Among  the  Kafirs  a  person  sometimes  "  intimates  that  he 
has  received  revelations  from  the  spirit  world.  He  is  really 
a  monomaniac,"  says  Theal,  "  but  if  his  statements  are  be- 
lieved his  power  at  once  becomes  greater  than  that  of  the 
highest  chief  and  his  commands  are  implicitly  obeyed." 

1  E.  Treagear,  Maori  Race,  412. 

2  Theal,  Kafir  Folk-Lore,  21-2. 

130 


Messiahs  of  the  North  American  Aborigines       131 

In  North  America  there  is  frequently  an  achievement  of 
religious  independence.  Among  the  Gros  Ventres,  men  went 
out  to  fast  in  the  hope  of  receiving  supernatural  aid,  though 
not  all  men  tried  to  acquire  such  powers  and  some  of  those 
who  did  failed.  As  a  result  of  his  death  experience  and  the 
excursion  of  his  soul  into  the  realm  of  phantom  shades, 
Engawaen  Jim,  a  Northern  Shoshone,  mistrusted  the  state- 
ments both  of  the  medicine-men  and  of  the  missionaries  about 
the  spirit  world,  since  their  accounts  failed  to  tally  with  his. 

Even  in  the  ritualistic  phase  individual  innovation  has 
played  an  important  role,  as  witness  Hopi  ceremonials.1 

Among  the  Apache  it  appears  that  any  man  may  acquire 
supernatural  power.  "  It  is  necessary  to  convince  his 
friends  that  '  he  has  the  gift,'  that  is,  he  must  show  that  he 
is  a  dreamer  of  dreams,  given  to  long  fasts  and  vigils,  able 
to  interpret  omens  in  a  satisfactory  manner,  and  do  other 
things  of  that  general  nature  to  demonstrate  the  possession 
of  an  intense  spirituality.  Then  he  will  begin  to  withdraw, 
at  least  temporarily,  from  the  society  of  his  fellows  and  de- 
vote himself  to  long  absences,  especially  by  night,  in  the 
4  high  places.'  Such  sacred  fanes,  perched  in  dangerous 
and  hidden  retreats,  can  be,  or  until  lately  could  be,  found 
in  many  parts  of  our  remote  western  territory."  In  a  word, 
a  man  must  hear  the  call  before  he  can  follow  his  calling,  he 
must  show  ability  before  he  can  secure  recognition.  The  in- 
dividual who  "  has  it  in  him  "  will  succeed.  "  While  it  is 
regarded  as  a  surer  mode  of  learning  how  to  be  a  medicine- 
man to  seek  the  tuition  of  some  one  who  has  already  gained 
power  and  influence  as  such,  and  pay  him  liberally  in  pres- 
ents of  all  kinds  for  a  course  of  instruction  lasting  a  year  or 
longer,  I  could  learn  of  nothing  to  prohibit  a  man  from 
assuming  the  role  of  a  prophet  or  healer  of  the  sick,  if  so  dis- 

i  Fewkes,  21,  A.  R.  A.  B.  E.  113.  In  a  letter  dated  April  17,  1913, 
Dr.  Fewkes  tells  me  he  was  personally  acquainted  with  no  less  than  four 
of  these  innovators.  He  adds,  "  You  will  find  much  individual  inven- 
tion in  the  semi-secular  acts,  impromptu  and  otherwise,  of  the  Hopi 
clowns  or  Koyimsi,  who  carry  on  their  pranks,  varying  each  perfor- 
mance, while  the  Sacred  Katcinas  are  being  danced.  One  of  these  is 
referred  to  in  an  article  in  the  American  Anthropologist,  vol.  12,  N.  S., 
p.  59." 


Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

posed,  beyond  the  dread  of  punishment  for  failure  to  cure  or 
alleviate  sickness  or  infirmity.  Neither  is  there  such  a  thing 
as  settled  dogma  among  these  medicine-men.  Each  follows 
the  dictates  of  his  own  inclinations,  consulting  such  spirits 
and  powers  as  are  most  amenable  to  his  supplications  and 
charms ;  but  no  two  seem  to  rely  upon  identically  the  same 
influences." 

"  Even  in  the  spirit  dance,  which  is  possibly  the  most 
solemn  function  in  which  the  Apache  medicine-men  can 
engage,  the  head-dresses  and  kilts  adhered  closely  enough 
to  the  one  pattern,  but  the  symbolism  employed  by  each 
medicine-man  was  entirely  different  from  that  adopted  by  his 
neighbor." 

The  L'Annee  Sociologique  School  have  tried  to  resolve  all 
individual  actions  into  mere  phases  of  social  activity,  their 
source  being  in  the  social  milieu  rather  than  in  the  individual. 
For  Durkheim,  compulsory  religion  can  have  no  origin  in 
individuals  but  only  in  the  etats  de  Vame  collective,  et  elle 
varie  comme  ces  etats.  Si  elle  etait  fondee  dans  la  consti- 
tution de  I'individu,  elle  ne  se  presenterait  pas  a  lui  sous  cet 
aspect  coercitif.  Gehlke  has  not  done  Durkheim  an  injustice 
in  alleging  that  in  his  later  theory  he  has  made  of  the  indi- 
vidual only  a  body  without  a  soul  of  his  own.  "  His  soul 
is  the  mind  of  society  incarnated  in  his  body.  The  social 
mind  is  all  the  mind  that  exists ;  and  in  this  sense  the  social 
is  the  only  real."  1 

We  propose  to  submit  examples  of  the  introduction  by  in- 
dividuals of  new  religions  and  to  show  that  in  many  of  these 
cases  the  individual  presents  to  society  the  coercitive  aspect 
of  the  religion.  These  new  religions  seem  to  show  that  the 
individual  is  a  social  system  in  himself,  capable  of  taking 
from  other  cultures  some  new  idea  and  giving  this  to  his  own 
group.  He,  more  completely  than  the  group,  embodies  the 
religious  concepts  and  is  the  source  of  their  development. 
To  account  for  many  of  the  phenomena  of  change  and  prog- 
ress in  the  social  order  we  must  admit  the  reality  of  the  indi- 
vidual as  a  separable  determining  agent.  Though  often  bor- 

i  Charles   E.  Gehlke,  Entile  Durkheim's  Contributions  to  Sociological 
Theory.    New  York,  1915.    See,  especially,  Durkheim,  La  Vie  Religieuse. 


Messiahs  of  the  North  American  Aborigines       133 

rowed  from  another  group,  these  concepts  are  reinterpreted 
by  the  individual,  infused  with  new  meaning,  and  by  him 
imposed  upon  the  group.  In  two  senses  of  the  word  it  may 
be  an  imposition  upon  the  part  of  the  individual,  for  his 
doctrines  often  bring  the  group  to  ruin.  Though  they  later 
see  the  extent  to  which  their  wills  have  been  swayed  by  the 
prophet,  their  ideas  submerged  beneath  his  own,  the  tem- 
porary subordination  may  be  complete  and  thoroughgoing. 
These  instances  eloquently  challenge  the  subordination  of 
individual  to  group ;  nay,  more,  they  seem  to  demonstrate 
successfully  the  larger  reality  of  individual  mind. 

For  example,  as  the  result  of  the  journeys  of  a  certain 
Southern  Massim,  one  Tokeri,  to  Hiyoyoa,  the  chief  over  the 
land  of  the  dead,  "  he  warned  the  people  of  Milne  Bay  to 
kill  their  pigs  and  to  build  houses  in  the  bush,  for,  said  he, 
a  great  wave  would  presently  come  from  Hiyoyoa  and,  flood- 
ing the  coast,  would  sweep  their  dwellings  away.  Following 
the  wave  Hiyoyoa  (a  mythical  person,  or  god)  would  ap- 
pear at  the  head  of  Milne  Bay,  beneath  which  it  now  exists. 
At  Gabugabuna,  his  own  hamlet,  his  words  were  believed, 
and  many  pigs  were  killed  and  houses  built  in  the  bush.  At 
Wagawaga  they  were  content  to  build  houses  in  the  bush 
without  slaughtering  their  pigs,  while  Maivara  remained 
sceptical  and  refused  to  act  on  his  prophecies.  As  time 
passed  and  there  were  no  signs  of  the  fulfillment  of  the 
prophecy,  the  feeling  of  the  Bay  turned  against  the  prophet. 
Tokeri  could  not,  however,  be  killed  out  of  hand,  because 
Samarai,  the  seat  of  government,  was  too  near.  He  was 
threatened  with  death  so  often  on  account  of  the  pigs  he  had 
caused  to  be  killed  and  for  the  trouble  he  had  caused  in  the 
Bay,  especially  to  the  old  folk,  that  the  Government  rose  to 
the  occasion,  and  interned  the  prophet  for  a  short  time  upon 
some  technical  plea  of  extortion  connected  with  the  pig-kill- 
ing, until  the  heat  of  resentment  had  abated."  [C.  G.  Selig- 
mann,  The  Melanesians  of  British  New  Guinea,  656.  Macmil- 
lan,  1908.]  This,  if  not  a  case  of  genuine  messianic  mani- 
festation, shows  at  least  the  inception  of  messianism  in 
the  nature  of  motives  and  of  circumstances. 


134  Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

Messiahs  of  the  North  American  Aborigines 

Among  no  primitive  peoples  known  to  us  have  messiahs 
flourished  so  abundantly  and  vigorously  as  among  the 
aborigines  of  North  America.  One  may  suggest  two  reasons 
for  this  frequency: 

1.  The   early   Christian   influence,   represented   especially 
by  the  Spanish  missions  and  the  Jesuits,  as  well  as,  later,  the 
English.      Christianity,  thus,  early  sowed  the  seed  of  messi- 
anic faith  which  later  brought  forth  fruit  abundantly,  espe- 
cially under  conditions  like  those  prevailing  among  the  down- 
trodden Jews.     Here  the  fruit  of  missionary  endeavour  has 
had  a  longer  period  for  full  fruition  than  among  any  other 
primitive  people. 

2.  The  energy  and  vigor  of  the  American  tribes.     They 
have  resisted  the  disrupting  forces  of  European  civilization 
more  arduously  than  have  other  savages.     Individual  and 
tribal  strength,  pride  in  their  culture,  and  disdain  of  the 
European,  are  the  traits  that  have  marked  the  Indian.     Like 
the   Jews,   though   trampled   upon,   they   have   disdainfully 
scoffed  at  their  oppressors.     They  possessed  none  of  those 
servile   and  humble   qualities   which  made   of  the  Negro   a 
profitable  and  easy  slave.1     A  bluer  blood  coursed  through 
their  veins ;  servility  was  not  to  tfyeir  mood.     In  rmany  re- 
spects they  counted  honor  above  life.* 

It  is  of  the  American  messiahs,K  al^o,  that  we  J^ive  the 
best  and  most  complete  accounts**  tkanks  largely  to  the 
work  of  the  American  ethnologist,  Mr^  J^lponey.  He  first 
brought  the  importance  of  these  phenoAiejid  home  t-osus  and 
gave  both  a  vivid  description  and  an  incisive  interpretation 
of  them.  No  fitter  introduction  to  this^  topic  could  be  given 
than  the  following  two  paragraphs  frcfm  Mr.  Mooney's  pen 
(from  whom,  in  the  following  account,  we  shall  quote  liber- 
ally)  : 

"  From  time  to  time  in  every  great  tribe  and  every  im- 

i  In  some  instances  they  submitted  to  enslavement  by  other  i  Jdians ; 
yet  repeated  attempts  upon  the  part  of  Europeans  to  enslave -them  ended 
in  failure,  and  often  disastrously.  [See,  for  example,  Almon  Wheeler 
Lauber,  Indian  Slavery  in  Colonial  Times  within  the  Present  Limits  of 
the  United  States.  New  York,  1913. 1 


Messiahs  of  the  North  American  Aborigines       135 

portant  crisis  of  Indian  history  we  find  certain  men  rising 
above  the  position  of  ordinary  doctor,  soothsayer,  or  ritual 
priest  to  take  upon  themselves  an  apostleship  of  reform  and 
return  to  the  uncorrupted  ancestral  beliefs  and  custom  as 
the  necessary  means  to  save  their  people  from  impending 
destruction  by  decay  or  conquest.  In  some  cases  the  teach- 
ing takes  the  form  of  a  new  Indian  gospel,  the  revolutionary 
culmination  of  a  long  and  silent  development  of  the  native 
religious  thought.  As  the  faithful  disciples  were  usually 
promised  the  return  of  the  earlier  and  happier  conditions, 
the  restoration  of  the  diminished  game,  the  expulsion  of  the 
alien  intruder,  and  reunion  in  earthly  existence  with  the 
priests  who  had  preceded  them  to  the  spirit  world  —  all  to 
be  brought  about  by  direct  supernatural  interposition  — 
the  teachers  have  been  called  prophets. 

"  While  all  goes  well  with  the  tribe  the  religious  feeling 
finds  sufficient  expression  in  the  ordinary  ritual  forms  of 
tribal  usage,  but  when  misfortune  threatens  the  nation  or 
the  race,  the  larger  emergency  brings  out  the  prophet,  who 
strives  to  avert  the  disaster  by  moulding  his  people  to  a 
common  purpose  through  insistence  upon  the  sacred  charac- 
ter of  his  message,  and  thus  furnishes  support  to  the  chiefs 
in  their  plans  for  organized  improvement  or  resistance. 
Thus  it  is  found  that  almost  every  great  Indian  warlike  com- 
bination has  had  its  prophet  messenger  in  the  outset,  and  if 
all  the  facts  could  be  known  we  should  probably  find  the 
rule  universal."  [James  Mooney,  in  Handbook  of  American 
Indians,  II,  309.] 

Chief  among  these  prophets,  or  Messiahs,  and  the  earliest 
of  whom  we  have  record  was  Pope,  "  a  celebrated  Tewa  medi- 
cine-man, native  of  the  pueblo  of  San  Juan,  who  first  appears 
in  New  Mexican  history  in  1675,  as  a  leader  either  of  some 
prisoners  charged  with  witchcraft,  and  with  killing  several 
missionaries,  or  of  a  party  that  visited  the  Spanish  governor 
at  Sante  Fe  in  that  year  demanding  their  release.  Later 
making  Taos  the  seat  of  his  efforts,  he  quietly  preached  the 
doctrine  of  independence  of  Spanish  authority  and  the  res- 
toration of  the  old  Pueblo  life,  which  developed  into  a  plot 
to  murder  or  drive  from  the  country  the  &400  Spanish  colo- 


136  Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

nists  and  priests."  He  and  his  followers  succeeded  in  oust- 
ing the  Spaniards.  "  Having  accomplished  this  much,  Pope 
set  about  to  realize  the  rest  of  his  dream.  Those  who  had 
been  baptized  as  Christians  were  washed  with  yucca  suds; 
the  Spanish  language  and  all  baptismal  names  were  prohib- 
ited; where  not  already  consumed  by  the  burning  of  the 
churches,  all  Christian  objects  were  destroyed  and  every- 
thing done  to  restore  the  old  order  of  things.  This  project 
of  obliterating  everything  Spanish  from  the  life  and  thought 
of  the  Indians  met  with  the  same  enthusiasm  as  that  with 
which  the  plan  of  revolt  had  been  received,  and  for  a  long 
time  Pope,  dressed  in  ceremonial  garb  as  he  went  from  pueblo 
to  pueblo,  was  everywhere  received  with  honor."  [Art., 
Pope,  in  Handbook  of  American  Indians.] 

We  have  another  interesting  Messiah  in  the  person  of 
"  Teuskwatawa "  (Teu<-skwa-ta  wa,  skwa  te,  door,  theuni, 
"to  be  open,"  "The  Open  Door")  the  famous  "  Shawnee 
Prophet,"  twin  brother  of  Tecumseh,  prominent  in  Indian 
and  American  history  immediately  before  the  War  of  1812. 
His  original  name  was  Lalawethika,  referring  to  a  rattle  or 
similar  instrument.  According  to  one  account  he  was  noted 
in  his  earlier  years  for  stupidity  and  intoxication;  but  one 
day,  while  lighting  his  pipe  in  his  cabin,  he  fell  back  appar- 
ently lifeless  and  remained  in  that  condition  until  his  friends 
had  assembled  for  the  funeral,  when  he  revived  from  his 
trance,  quieted  their  alarm  and  announced  that  he  had  been 
conducted  to  the  spirit  world.  In  November,  1805,  when 
hardly  more  than  thirty  years  of  age,  he  called  around  him 
his  tribesmen  and  their  allies  at  their  ancient  capital  of 
Wapakoneta,  within  the  present  limits  of  Ohio,  and  an- 
nounced himself  as  the  bearer  of  a  new  revelation  from  the 
Master  of  Life.  "  He  declared  that  he  had  been  taken  up 
to  the  spirit  world  and  had  been  permitted  to  lift  the  veil  of 
the  past  and  the  future  —  had  seen  the  misery  of  evil  doers 
and  learned  the  happiness  that  awaited  those  who  followed 
the  precepts  of  the  Indian  god.  He  then  began  an  earnest 
exhortation,  denouncing  the  witchcraft  practices  and  medi- 
cine juggleries  of  the  tribe,  and  solemnly  warning  his  hearers 
that  none  who  had  part  in  such  things  would  ever  taste  of 


Messiahs  of  the  North  American  Aborigines       137 

the  future  happiness.  The  firewater  of  the  whites  was  poison 
and  accursed ;  and  those  who  continued  its  use  would  be  tor- 
mented after  death  with  all  the  pains  of  fire,  while  flames 
would  continually  issue  from  their  mouths.  This  idea  may 
have  been  derived  from  the  white  man's  teaching  or  from 
the  Indian  practice  of  torture  by  fire.  The  young  must 
cherish  and  respect  the  aged  and  infirm.  All  property  must 
be  in  common,  according  to  the  ancient  law  of  their  ancestors. 
Indian  women  must  cease  to  intermarry  with  white  men ;  the 
two  races  were  distinct  and  must  remain  so.  The  white 
man's  dress,  with  his  flint  and  steel,  must  be  discarded  for  the 
old-time  buckskin  and  the  fire-stick.  More  than  this,  every 
tool  and  every  custom  derived  from  the  whites  must  be  put 
away,  and  the  Indians  must  return  to  the  methods  the  Master 
of  Life  had  taught  them.  When  they  should  do  all  this,  he 
promised  that  they  would  be  again  taken  into  divine  favor, 
and  find  the  happiness  which  their  fathers  had  known  before 
the  coming  of  the  whites.  Finally,  in  proof  of  his  divine  mis- 
sion, he  announced  that  he  had  received  power  to  cure  all 
diseases  and  to  arrest  the  hand  of  death  in  sickness  or  on  the 
battlefield.  .  .  . 

"  Intense  excitement  followed  the  prophet's  announcement 
of  his  mission,  and  a  crusade  commenced  against  all  sus- 
pected of  dealing  in  witchcraft.  The  prophet  very  cleverly 
turned  the  crusade  against  any  who  opposed  his  supernatural 
claims,  but  in  this  he  sometimes  overreached  himself,  and  lost 
much  of  his  prestige  in  consequence. 

"  He  now  changed  his  name  to  Teuskwa'tawa,  significant 
of  the  new  mode  of  life  which  he  had  come  to  point  out  to 
his  people,  and  fixed  his  headquarters  at  Greenville,  Ohio, 
where  representatives  from  the  various  scattered  tribes  of  the 
North-West  gathered  about  him  to  learn  the  new  doctrines. 
To  establish  his  sacred  character  and  to  dispel  the  doubts 
of  the  unbelievers  he  continued  to  dream  dreams  and  an- 
nounce wonderful  revelations  from  time  to  time.  A  miracle 
which  finally  silenced  all  objections  was  the  prediction  of 
an  eclipse  of  the  sun  which  took  place  in  the  summer  of  1806; 
this  was  followed  by  his  enthusiastic  acceptance  as  a  true 
prophet  and  the  messenger  of  the  Master  of  Life.  The  en- 


138  Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

thusiasm  now  spread  rapidly  and  emissaries  traveled  from 
tribe  to  tribe  as  far  as  the  Seminole  and  the  Siksike,  incul- 
cating the  new  doctrines." 

Teuskwa'tawa's  success  is  partly  attributable  to  the  fact 
that  he  possessed  a  magnetic  and  powerful  personality. 
[James  Mooney,  Ib.,  729^-30.  He  quotes  in  part  from 
Drake's  Life  of  Tecumseh.~] 

In  practically  all  of  these  instances  the  prophet  or  mes- 
siah  has  appeared  at  a  time  of  great  social  need.  Smohalla, 
the  Nez  Perce  prophet,  and  one  of  the  most  eminent  of  the 
North  American  messiahs,  insisted  upon  the  helplessness  of 
his  tribe  before  the  encroachments  of  the  whites.  The  tribe 
would  be  exterminated,  said  he,  unless  they  found  assistance 
in  a  higher  power.  Smohalla  found  this  higher  power  and 
obtained  from  it  knowledge  of  the  salvation  of  the  Nez  Perce 
from  the  white  man's  deteriorating  influence.  Should  his 
tribesmen  heed  this  sacred  message  they  were  promised  strong 
and  sudden  help  as  surely  as  spring  follows  winter. 

When  the  Kickapoo  prophet,  Kanakiik,  visited  General 
Clark  to  explain  his  mission,  he  began  with  a  discourse  on 
the  origin  of  his  divine  mission  and  the  nature  of  his  doctrine, 
illustrating  the  subject  by  means  of  a  peculiar  diagram,  and 
closing  with  an  earnest  appeal  that  his  people  might  remain 
undisturbed.  The  words  in  which  he  couched  his  message 
show  the  nature  of  the  circumstances  that  called  forth  the 
divine  revelation. 

"  My  father,"  said  Kanakiik,  in  addressing  General  Clark, 
"  the  Great  Spirit  appeared  to  me ;  he  saw  my  heart  was  in 
sorrow  about  our  land;  he  told  me  not  to  give  up  the  busi- 
ness, but  go  to  my  Great  Father  and  he  would  listen  to  me. 
My  father,  when  I  talked  to  the  Great  Spirit,  I  saw  the  chiefs 
holding  the  land  fast.  He  told  me  the  life  of  our  children 
was  short  and  that  the  earth  would  sink.  My  father,  you 
call  all  the  Redskins  your  children.  When  we  have  chil- 
dren, we  treat  them  well.  That  is  the  reason  I  make  this 
long  talk  to  get  you  to  take  pity  on  us  and  let  us  remain 
where  we  are.  When  I  saw  the  Great  Spirit,  he  told  me  to 
throw  all  our  bad  acts  away.  We  did  so.  Some  of  our 
chiefs  said  the  land  belonged  to  us,  the  Kickapoos.  But  this 


Messiahs  of  the  North  American  Aborigines       139 

is  not  what  the  Great  Spirit  told  me  —  the  lands  belong  to 
him.  The  Great  Spirit  told  me  that  no  people  owned  the 
lands  —  that  all  was  his,  and  not  to  forget  to  tell  the  white 
people  that  when  we  went  into  council.  When  I  told  the 
Great  Spirit,  he  told  me,  Mention  all  this  to  your  Great 
Father,  He  will  take  pity  on  your  situation  and  let  you  re- 
main on  the  lands  where  you  are  for  some  years,  when  you 
will  be  able  to  get  through  all  the  bad  places  .  .  .  and  where 
you  will  get  to  a  clear  piece  of  land  where  you  will  all  live 
happy.  When  I  talked  to  the  Great  Spirit,  he  told  me  to 
make  my  warriors  throw  their  tomahawks  in  the  bad  place. 
I  did  so,  and  every  night  and  morning  I  raise  my  hands  to 
the  Great  Spirit  and  pray  to  him  to  give  us  success.  I  ex- 
pect, my  father,  that  God  has  put  me  in  a  good  way  —  that 
our  children  shall  see  their  sisters  and  brothers  and  our 
women  see  their  children.  They  will  grow  up  and  travel  and 
see  their  totems.  The  Great  Spirit  told  me,  '  Our  old  men 
had  totems.  They  were  good  and  had  many  totems.  Now 
you  have  scarcely  any..  If  you  follow  my  advice,  you  will 
soon  have  totems  again.'  '  [Indian  Office  Document.] 

A  ballad  composed  by  one  W.  H.  Prather,  a  colored  pri- 
vate in  the  regiment  that  helped  quell  the  Siouan  outbreak 
accompanying  the  ghost  dance  religion  introduced  by  the 
Paiute  messiah,  Wovoka,  tells  the  story  —  though  with  more 
directness  than  poetic  imagery  —  of  the  intent  of  this  reli- 
gion. The  ballad,  which  is  called  The  Indian  Ghost  Dance 
and  War,  and  was  very  popular  with  the  troops  for  a  while, 
starts : 


"  The  Red  Skins  left  their  Agency,  the  Soldiers  left  their  post 
All  on  the  strength  of  an  Indian  tale  about  Messiah's  ghost 
Got  up  by  savage  chieftains  to  lead  their  tribes  astray; 
But  Uncle  Sam  wouldn't  have  it  so,  for  he  ain't  built  that  way. 

They  swore  that  this  Messiah  came  to  them  in  visions  sleep, 

And  promised  to  restore  their  game  and  buffaloes  a  heap, 

So  they  must  start  a  big  ghost  dance,  then  all  would  join  their 

band, 
And  maybe  so  we  lead  the  way  into  the  Great  Bad  Land. 


14*0  Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

Chorus : 

They  claimed  the  shirt  Messiah  gave,  no  bullet  could  go  through, 
But  when  the  Soldiers  fired  at  them  they  saw  this  was  not  true," 
etc.,  etc. 

"  If  we  dance,"  said  a  Dakota  convert,  "  our  Good  Spirit 
will  protect  us,  and  when  all  dancers  are  sincere,  the  bullets 
of  the  soldiers  will  harmlessly  fall  to  the  ground  without 
power  to  hurt.  There  is  no  army  so  powerful  that  it  can 
contend  with  Wakantanka  (literally,  the  Most  Holy), 
therefore  we  are  not  afraid  to  remain  here."  The  Great 
Spirit  had  prepared  a  hole  in  the  ground  filled  with  hot  water 
and  fire  for  the  reception  of  all  white  men  and  non-believers, 
and  had  informed  a  devotee  that  "  the  earth  was  now  bad 
and  worn  out ;  that  the  Dakota  needed  a  new  dwelling  place 
where  the  whites  could  not  disturb  them."  [W.  K.  Moore- 
head,  Field  Diary  of  an  Archaeological  Collector,  15—19.] 

In  the  tribes  strongly  entrenched,  flourishing  in  their 
aboriginal  vigor  and  feeling  little  need  of  redemption,  so  long 
as  the  outside  pressure  of  civilization  scarcely  discommoded 
them,  the  messianic  religion  met  with  little  or  no  success,  for 
the  favorable  conditions  were  not  present.  In  vain  did  the 
Paiute  runners  bring  to  the  powerful  Navaho  the  news  of 
the  near  advent  of  the  messiah  and  of  the  resurrection  of  the 
dead.  To  a  tribe  safely  ensconced  in  the  fastnesses  of  New 
Mexico  and  Arizona,  apart  from  deleterious  white  contact, 
in  numbers  over  16,000  strong,  having  some  9,000  cattle, 
119,000  horses,  1,600,000  sheep  and  goats,  rich  in  herds 
and  silver,  the  message  came  in  vain,  for  they  felt,  in  their 
prosperity,  no  especial  need  of  a  redeemer.  The  messengers 
of  good  tidings  "  preached  and  prophesied  for  a  consider- 
able time,  but  the  Navaho  were  sceptical,  laughed  at  the 
prophets,  and  paid  but  little  attention  to  the  prophecies. 
The  doctrinal  seed  had  fallen  on  barren  ground."  You 
cannot  save  a  people  who  will  not  have  salvation.  [Mooney 
in  Fourteenth  Annual  Report  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology, 
809-10.] 

In  significant  contrast  with  the  attitude  of  the  prosperous 
Navaho  toward  the  new  ghost  dance  religion  was  that  of  the 
hard-pressed  Kiowa  with  their  predisposition  to  accept  the 


Messiahs  of  the  North  American  Aborigines       141 

new  messianic  religion,  promising,  as  it  did,  satisfaction  of 
long  and  intensely  felt  needs,  the  fulfillment  of  a  long-delayed 
restoration  of  the  more  prosperous  conditions  which  charac- 
terized this  tribe  prior  to  contact  with  civilization.  "  No 
tribe  had  made  more  desperate  resistance  to  the  encroach- 
ments of  the  whites  upon  their  hunting  grounds,  and  even 
after  the  failure  of  the  last  effort  of  the  confederated  tribes 
in  1874^5,  the  Kiowa  were  slow  to  accept  the  verdict  of 
defeat.  The  result  of  this  unsuccessful  struggle  was  to  put 
an  end  to  the  boundless  freedom  of  the  prairie,  where  they 
had  roamed  unquestioned  from  Dakota  almost  to  central 
Mexico,  and  henceforth  the  tribes  were  confined  within  the 
narrow  limits  of  reservations.  Within  five  years  the  great 
southern  buffalo  herd  was  extinct  and  the  Indians  found 
themselves  at  once  prisoners  and  paupers.  The  change  was 
so  swift  and  terrible  in  its  effects  that  they  could  not  believe 
it  real  and  final.  It  seemed  to  them  like  a  dream  of  sorrow, 
a  supernatural  cloud  of  darkness  to  punish  their  derelictions, 
but  which  could  be  lifted  from  them  by  prayer  and  sacrifice. 
Their  old  men  told  of  years  when  the  buffalo  was  scarce  or 
had  gone  a  long  way  off,  but  never  since  the  beginning  of  the 
world  of  a  time  when  there  were  no  buffalo.  The  buffalo 
still  lived  beyond  their  horizon  or  in  caves  under  the  earth, 
and  with  its  return  would  come  back  prosperity  and  free- 
dom." 

Hence,  when  in  1881,  a  young  Kiowa,  bearing  the  appella- 
tion of  "  Keeps-his-name-always,"  began  to  make  medicine 
that  would  bring  back  the  buffalo,  setting  up  for  this  pur- 
pose a  sacred  tipi,  in  front  of  which  he  erected  a  pole  with 
a  buffalo  skin  at  the  top,  then  making  for  himself  a  priestly 
robe  of  red  color,  trimmed  with  rows  of  eagle  feathers,  his 
efforts  were  not  looked  upon  askance  by  his  fellow  tribesmen ; 
on  the  contrary,  being  so  much  in  sympathy  with  his  object 
and  feeling  so  profoundly  the  necessity  of  its  success,  they 
warmly  welcomed  the  effort  and  readily  acknowledged  his 
authority.  "  Standing  in  front  of  his  tipi  he  called  the 
people  around  him  and  told  them  that  he  had  been  com- 
manded and  empowered  in  a  dream  to  bring  back  the  buffalo, 
and  if  they  observed  strictly  the  prayers  and  ceremonies 


Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

v 

which  he  enjoined  the  great  herds  would  once  more  cover  the 
prairie.  His  hearers  believed  his  words,  promised  strict 
obedience,  and  gave  freely  of  their  blankets  and  other  prop- 
erty to  reward  his  efforts  in  their  behalf."  After  about  a 
year  death  terminated  his  prophecies  and  his  buffalo  medi- 
cine without  the  realization  of  his  hopes. 

But  Kiowa  hope  was  not  dead.  In  1887,  less  than  a 
decade  after  the  death  of  "  Keeps-his-name-always,"  "  In- 
the-middle,"  another  prophet,  revived  the  prophecy,  "  claim- 
ing to  be  heir  to  all  the  supernatural  powers  of  his  prede- 
cessor. He  amplified  the  doctrine  by  asserting,  logically 
enough,  that  as  the  whites  were  responsible  for  the  disap- 
pearance of  the  buffalo,  the  whites  themselves  would  be  de- 
stroyed by  the  gods  when  the  time  was  at  hand  for  the  return 
of  the  buffalo.  He  preached  also  his  own  invulnerability  and 
claimed  the  power  to  kill  with  a  look  those  who  might  offend 
him,  as  far  as  his  glance  could  reach.  Finally  he  announced 
that  the  time  was  at  hand  when  the  whites  would  be  removed 
and  the  buffalo  would  return.  He  ordered  all  the  tribe  to 
assemble  on  Elk  Creek,  where  after  four  days  he  would  bring 
down  fire  from  heaven  which  would  destroy  the  agency,  the 
schools,  and  the  white  race,  with  the  Indian  unbelievers  all 
together.  The  faithful  need  not  fear  pursuit  by  the  troops, 
for  the  soldiers  who  might  follow  would  wither  before  his 
glance  and  the  bullets  would  have  no  effect  on  the  Indians. 
The  whole  Kiowa  tribe  caught  the  infection  of  his  words. 
Every  camp  was  abandoned,  parents  took  their  children 
from  the  schools,  and  all  fled  to  the  rendezvous  on  Elk  Creek. 
Here  they  waited  patiently  for  their  deliverance  till  the  pre- 
dicted day  came,  and  passed,  without  event,  when  they  re- 
turned with  sadness  to  their  camp  and  their  government 
rations  of  white  man's  beef.  Pa-ingya  (In-the-middle)  still 
lives,  but  the  halo  of  prophecy  no  longer  surrounds  him.  To 
account  for  the  disappointment  he  claimed  that  his  people 
had  violated  some  of  the  ordinances  and  thereby  postponed 
the  destined  happiness.  In  this  way  their  minds  were  kept 
dwelling  on  the  subject,  and  when  at  last  the  rumor  of  a 
messiah  came  from  the  north  he  hailed  it  as  the  fulfillment 
of  the  prediction." 


Messiahs  of  the  North  American  Aborigines       143 

In  1891,  four  years  later,  another  prophet  arose,  a  man 
with  visions  of  restored  tribal  life  and  a  return  of  the 
abundant  supplies  of  buffalo.  But  a  visit  to  Wovoko,  the 
Paiute  messiah  of  whom  they  had  just  heard,  convinced  him 
of  the  latter's  false  pretensions,  a  report  which,  with  broken 
heart,  he  both  sent  by  letter  in  advance  and  delivered  later 
in  person.  An  observer  of  the  scene  when  the  Kiowa  and 
other  tribes  assembled  to  hear  this  sorrowful  report  de- 
scribes it  as  "  dramatic  in  the  highest  degree."  "  Their 
power,  prosperity,  and  happiness  had  gone  down,  their  race 
was  withering  away  before  the  white  man.  The  messiah  doc- 
trine promised  a  restoration  of  the  old  conditions  through 
supernatural  assistance.  If  this  hope  was  without  founda- 
tion, the  Indian  had  no  future  and  his  day  was  forever  past." 
[Ib.,  906.] 

Tavibo,  the  Paiute  prophet,  "  went  up  alone  into  the 
mountain  and  there  met  the  Great  Spirit.  He  brought  back 
with  him  no  tablets  of  stone,  but  he  was  a  messenger  of  good 
tidings  to  the  effect  that  within  a  few  moons  there  was 
to  be  a  great  upheaval  or  earthquake.  All  the  improvements 
of  the  whites  —  all  their  houses,  their  goods,  stores,  etc. — 
would  remain,  but  the  whites  would  be  swallowed  up  while  the 
Indians  would  be  saved  and  permitted  to  enjoy  the  earth  and 
all  the  fullness  thereof,  including  anything  left  by  the  wicked 
whites.  This  revelation  was  duly  proclaimed  by  the  prophet, 
and  attracted  a  few  believers,  but  the  doubting  skeptics  were 
too  many,  and  they  ridiculed  the  idea  that  the  white  men 
would  fall  into  holes  and  be  swallowed  up  while  the  Indians 
would  not.  As  the  prophet  could  not  enforce  his  belief,  he 
went  up  into  the  mountain  again  and  came  back  with  a  second 
revelation,  which  was  that  when  the  great  disaster  came,  all, 
both  the  Indians  and  whites  would  be  swallowed  up  or  over- 
whelmed, but  that  at  the  end  of  three  days  (or  a  few  days) 
the  Indians  would  be  resurrected  in  the  flesh,  and  would  live 
forever  to  enjoy  the  earth  with  plenty  of  game,  fish,  and  pine 
nuts,  while  their  enemies,  the  whites,  would  be  destroyed  for- 
ever. There  would  be  a  final  and  eternal  separation  between 
the  Indians  and  whites. 

"  This    revelation,    which    seemed    more    reasonable,    was 


144  Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

rather  popular  for  awhile,  but  as  time  wore  along  faith 
seemed  to  weaken  and  the  prophet  was  without  honor  even 
in  his  own  country.  After  much  fasting  and  prayer,  he 
made  a  third  trip  to  the  mountains,  where  he  secured  a  final 
revelation  or  message  to  the  people.  The  divine  spirit  had 
become  so  much  incensed  at  the  lack  of  faith  in  the  prophe- 
cies, that  it  was  revealed  to  his  chosen  one  that  those  Indians 
who  believed  in  the  prophecy  would  be  resurrected  and  be 
happy,  but  those  who  did  not  believe  in  it  would  stay  in  the 
ground  and  be  damned  forever  with  the  whites."  [J.  M. 
Lee,  quoted  by  Mooney,  14  A.  R.  A.  B.  E.,  701-2.]  Here 
again  the  theme  is  Indian  versus  white  man.  The  Apache 
medicine-man,  Nak  ai  dokli  ni,  whose  hey-day  was  in  1881, 
southern  Arizona  the  field  of  activity,  early  in  his  career 
began  to  advertise  his  supernatural  powers,  claiming  to  be 
able  to  raise  the  dead  and  commune  with  spirits,  and  predict- 
ing that  the  whites  would  soon  be  driven  from  the  land. 
The  Delaware  prophet  brought  a  similar  vision  of  help  from 
a  higher  power  that  would  drive  back  the  English  who  had 
so  extensively  supplanted  them  on  their  own  territory  and 
leave  the  Delaware  once  more  in  command  of  all  their  lands. 
The  Ojibway  were  misled  by  similar  hopes  and  promises 
only  to  be  left  in  greater  destitution  than  before,  as  were, 
later,  the  Kiowa,  who  had  been  promised  the  return  of  the 
buffalo  herds.  The  motive  back  of  the  great  Ghost  Dance 
religion  that  swept  across  the  Plains  a  quarter  of  a  century 
ago  and  roused  the  Sioux  to  their  last  outbreak  was,  at  bot- 
tom, an  attempt  to  restore  the  old  tribal  life,  and,  in  some 
cases,  by  way  of  forwarding  this  restoration,  to  drive  out  the 
disturbing  whites. 

From  the  first  of  these  messianic  religions  when  the  Tewa 
expelled  the  Spaniards,  in  the  seventeenth  century,  until  the 
Sioux  were  inspired  by  the  religious  fervor  of  a  new  doc- 
trine, there  has  been  throughout  the  driving  force  of  an 
outside  pressure.  These  religions  of  salvation  have  arisen 

i  Again  the  sad  sequel:  "It  was  not  long  after  this  that  the  prophet 
died,  and  the  poor  miserable  Indians  worried  along  for  nearly  two  de- 
cades, eating  grasshoppers,  lizards,  and  fish  and  trying  to  be  civilized 
until  the  appearance  of  a  new  prophet  Quoit-tsow,  who  is  said  to  be  the 
son,  either  actual  or  spiritual  of  the  first  one." 


Messiahs  of  the  North  American  Aborigines       145 

when  the  tribe  was  hard-pressed  and  facing  subjugation  if 
not  annihilation.  The  Messiah  was  responding  to  the  higher 
law  that  calls  upon  the  individual  to  save  his  group.  Most 
of  these  attempts  were  unsuccessful.  Nevertheless,  if  many 
failed  and  few  succeeded  in  the  attainment  of  their  object, 
they  at  least  effected  that  unification  and  solidification  of 
the  tribe  which  was  a  prerequisite  to  success. 

The  Messiah  who  introduced  the  Shaker  religion  among 
the  Squaxin  tribe  of  Puget  Sound,  Washington,  when  his 
soul  left  his  body  and  went  to  heaven,  was  told  at  the 
threshold  that  he  must  either  sojourn  in  hell  or  return  to 
his  people  and  teach  them  to  live  the  good  life.  It  may  be 
that  some  such  alternative  is  presented,  in  one  guise  or  an- 
other, to  each  of  these  prophets  in  turn.  It  may  be  clear 
to  them  as  to  no  other  in  the  tribe  that  either  they  as  mem- 
bers of  the  tribe  must  deteriorate  with  it,  or  there  must  be 
a  complete  conversion,  a  new  attitude  and  new  morals  em- 
bodied in  a  genuine  rejuvenescence.  The  Messiah  is,  in  al- 
most every  case,  a  reformer,  sowing  the  seeds  of  a  higher 
ethics. 

Dr.  Clark  Wissler  has  recently  emphasised  the  fact  that 
this  outburst  of  religious  activity  in  the  Plains  area  in  1890 
came  in  a  period  of  great  economic  readjustment.  "  The 
buffalo  went  out  by  1880  and  the  Indians  were  closely  con- 
fined, supported  by  rations  and  urged  to  become  agricul- 
turists. In  many  cases  these  unfortunate  people  set  dog- 
gedly at  their  difficult  task,  presenting  one  of  the  most 
pathetic  spectacles  of  modern  times.  With  this  new  life 
their  social  ideals  and  machinery  were  decidedly  out  of  joint. 
According  to  the  testimony  of  one  who  came  to  manhood 
during  this  period,  many  young  men  were  so  overwhelmed 
by  the  vacuity  of  the  new  life  that  they  took  to  suicide  or 
other  less  direct  ways  of  throwing  their  lives  away.  In  our 
opinion  this  status  afforded  unusual  conditions  for  the  as- 
similation and  diffusion  of  new  traits,  and  the  somewhat 
abnormal  character  of  the  stimulus  should  be  recognized 
in  all  theoretical  discussions  based  upon  this  phenomenon." 
[Anthropological  Papers  of  the  American  Museum  of  Nat- 
ural History,  XI  (1916),  869^-70.  For  a  not  unsimilar 


146  Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

interpretation  given  by  the  present  writer,  see  the  American 
Anthropologist,  December,  1915.] 

A  woman  of  the  Thompson  River  Indian  tribe  who  had 
been  to  the  land  of  souls,  depicted  its  wonders.  "  She  ap- 
peared about  1891,  and  averred  that  by  dreams  and  visions 
she  was  destined  to  be  the  savior  of  the  Indians.  She  also 
claimed  that  she  was  invulnerable  and  could  not  be  shot. 
She  preached  against  the  whites,  and  wanted  the  Indians  to 
follow  her  to  battle  against  them."  The  tribe,  however,  was 
not  prepared  for  such  action.  "  She  met  with  so  much 
opposition  from  the  chiefs  of  the  different  bands,  and  other 
leading  Indians  who  favored  the  whites,  that  she  turned  back 
on  reaching  Nicola  Valley  (British  Columbia),  deeming  it 
inadvisable  to  go  further,  abandoned  her  project,  and  went 
home." 

Here  the  failure  is  a  failure  of  the  group  to  respond.  An- 
other occasion  might  have  found  the  group  in  different  mood : 
"  had  she  come  twenty  years  earlier  it  is  difficult  to  say  what 
might  have  been  the  result,  as  even  now  she  has  more  than 
one  admirer  among  the  upper  division  of  the  tribe."  [Teit, 
in  Jesup  Expedition  Publications,  I,  366.  Anthropological 
Publications  of  the  American  Museum  of  Natural  History.] 

Another  remarkable  messianic  manifestation,  and  one  ap- 
parently historically  unrelated  to  the  North  American  mani- 
festations, was  reported  some  years  ago  from  South  Amer- 
ica. The  Messiah  was  a  medicine-man  of  Beckaranta,  a 
Guiana  Indian  who  had  spent  some  of  his  youth  in  George- 
town, had  been  an  interpreter  to  Schomburgk,  and  had 
learned  a  little  English.  "  His  home  was  in  Ibirimayeng  at 
the  foot  of  Mt.  Roraima.  When  about  twenty-five  years  of 
age  he  called  the  Indians  together  about  him  in  the  valley 
of  Kukenan,  and  announced  himself  as  the  Messiah.  Thou- 
sands of  Indians  of  diverse  and  even  hostile  tribes  gathered 
there.  Huts  were  built  and  presents  of  all  sorts  were 
brought  by  every  family  to  the  '  prophet ' —  knives,  scissors, 
mirrors,  hooks,  beads,  needles,  etc.  He  had  a  special  hut 
built  for  himself,  to  hide  from  the  people;  and  he  had,  it  is 
said,  a  harem  consisting  of  the  choicest  girls  from  all  the 
Indian  tribes.  He  rarely  showed  himself  and  then  only  be- 


Messiahs  of  the  North  American  Aborigines       147 

hind  a  screen  or  masked  so  as  to  have  only  his  eyes  free. 
For  several  weeks  drinking  festivals  and  similar  perform- 
ances were  kept  up  from  sunset  to  sunrise, —  the  women 
were  busy  making  paiwari,  which  the  men  drank  in  their 
hammocks.  One  mid-night  the  '  prophet,'  appearing  sud- 
denly before  the  people,  gave  a  long  talk  in  which  he  declared 
that  the  Great  Spirit,  Makunaima,  had  spoken  to  him  and 
told  him  that  his  brown  children  were  not  destined  to  be 
driven  out  by  the  whites.  He  went  on  to  say  that  the  In- 
dians were  to  have  firearms  instead  of  bows  and  arrows,  to 
have  white  girls  for  wives,  and  also  to  have  white  skins 
instead  of  brown.  In  order  that  this  might  be  properly  ac- 
complished, they  were  all  to  die  within,  three  nights,  each 
by  the  hand  of  another,  and  on  the  night  of  the  next  full 
moon  the  bodies  of  the  dead  would  arise  and  come  down  from 
Mt.  Roraima  in  their  white  skins  to  enjoy  the  land. 

"  When  the  Indians  hesitated  to  begin  killing  one  another, 
he  clubbed  some  of  them  and  broke  their  skulls  so  that  they 
fell  into  the  troughs  in  which  the  paiwari  was  being  made. 
Of  this  liquor  mixed  with  the  blood  of  the  dead  he  drank 
himself  and  gave' others  to  drink.  Then  the  passion  of  the 
Indians  being  fully  aroused,  intertribal  hates  made  them- 
selves felt,  and  some  four  hundred  people  of  both  sexes  and 
all  ages,  fell  victims  to  a  bloody  massacre." 

The  full  moon  and  the  night  of  resurrection  came  but 
those  four  hundred  did  not  return  to  life.  The  people  being 
disillusioned,  the  prophet  was  knocked  down  with  a  club, 
j  oined  the  ranks  of  the  four  hundred,  and,  like  them,  did  not 
revive  in  proof  of  his  prophecy.1 

[Mr.  S.  A.  Barrett  has  recently  described  what  he  calls 
"  the  Messiah  Cult  "  among  the  Porno  Indians  of  California,  1 1 
but  his  description  is  rather  that  of  inspired  medicine-men 

i  Equally  successful  in  leading  the  group  captive  was  the  Eskimo 
"  Great  Sage "  who,  upon  a  cold  night,  induced  his  barefoot  followers 
to  climb  with  him  a  mountain  whence  they  would  be  taken  up  into 
heaven.  With  the  breaking  of  dawn  their  illusion  was  gone,  and  with 
frostbitten  feet  they  acknowledged  their  error.  [See  the  article  by  the 
late  Prof.  A.  F.  Chamberlain,  New  Religions  Among  the  North  Amer- 
ican Indians,  etc.  Journal  of  Religious  Psychology,  Jan.,  1913,  VI,  1-49. 
Incarnation  (American)  in  Hastings  E.R.E.,.VII,  184-6]. 


148  Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

than  of  Messiahs.  See  Ceremonies  of  the  Porno  Indians,  440. 
University  of  California  Publications  in  American  Arche- 
ology and  Ethnology,  Vol.  12,  No.  10,  July  6,  1917.  Prof. 
A.  L.  Kroeber  assures  the  writer,  however,  that  true  messi- 
anic cults  have  flourished  in  California  among  the  Porno.] 

From  about  1870  to  1872,  a  ghost  dance  swept  the  north- 
ern part  of  California,  coming  to  these  tribes  from  the  north- 
ern Paiute  of  Nevada,  and  having  its  origin  in  the  same 
family  as  the  later  ghost  dance  already  described.  The 
ideas  of  the  two  movements  were  essentially  identical.  Is  it 
not  curious,  then,  that  this  first  movement  succeeded  notably 
in  California  and  failed  conspicuously  everywhere  else, 
whereas  in  the  later  movement  of  1889  or  1890  there  was 
conspicuous  success  elsewhere  and  as  notable  failure  in  the 
self-same  California  area?  In  answering  this  question  Dr. 
Kroeber  suggests :  "  That  the  Calif ornians  remained  im- 
passive toward  the  second  wave,  is  intelligible  on  the  ground 
of  immunity  acquired  by  having  passed  through  the  first. 
But  that  a  religion  which  showed  its  inherent  potentiality  by 
spreading  to  wholly  foreign  tribes,  should  in  1870  have  been 
unable  to  make  any  eastward  progress  and  in  1890  sweep 
like  wild  fire  more  than  a  thousand  miles  to  the  east,  is  re- 
markable. The  only  explanation  seems  to  be  that  the  bulk 
of  the  Indian  tribes  in  the  United  States  in  1870  had  not 
been  reduced  to  the  necessary  condition  of  cultural  decay 
for  a  revivalistic  influence  to  impress  them.  In  other  words, 
the  native  civilization  of  northern  California  appears  to  have 
suffered  as  great  a  disintegration  by  1810,  twenty  or  twen- 
ty-five years  after  its  first  serious  contact  with  the  whites, 
as  the  average  tribe  of  the  central  United  States  had  under- 
gone by  1890,  or  from  fifty  years  to  a  century  after  similar 
contact  began.  As  regards  the  Plains  tribes,  among  whom 
the  second  ghost  dance  reached  its  culmination,  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  buffalo  may  be  ascribed  the  same  influence  in  the 
breaking  up  of  their  old  life,  as  the  sudden  overwhelming 
swamping  of  the  natives  by  the  California  gold  seekers.  In 
each  case  an  interval  of  from  ten  to  twenty  years  elapsed 
from  the  dealing  of  the  substantial  death  blow  to  the  native 
civilization,  until  the  realization  of  the  change  was  sufficiently 


Messiahs  of  the  North  American  Aborigines       14*9 

profound  to  provide  a  fruitful  soil  for  a  doctrine  of  restora- 
tion. 

"  Individual  tribes,"  continues  Dr.  Kroeber,  "  had  of 
course  been  subject  to  quite  various  fortunes  at  the  hands 
of  the  whites  when  either  ghost  dance  reached  them.  But  it 
is  also  known  that  they  accorded  the  movement  many  locally 
diverse  receptions.  Some  threw  themselves  into  it  with  an 
almost  unlimited  enthusiasm  of  hope;  others  were  only 
slightly  touched  or  remained  aloof.  This  is  very  clear  from 
Mooney's  classical  account  of  the  greater  ghost  dance,  and 
it  can  be  conjectured  that  an  intensive  study  would  reveal 
the  skeptical  or  negative  tribes  to  have  been  so  situated  that 
their  old  life  did  not  yet  appear  to  themselves  as  irrevocably 
gone,  or  as  so  thoroughly  subject  to  the  influences  of  Cau- 
casian civilization  that  they  had  accepted  the  change  as  final. 
Then,  too,  it  must  be  remembered  that  the  wave,  as  it  spread, 
developed  a  certain  psychological  momentum  of  its  own,  so1 
that  tribes  which,  if  left  to  themselves  or  restricted  to  direct 
intercourse  with  the  originators  of  the  movement,  might 
have  remained  passive,  were  infected  by  the  frenzy  of  differ- 
ently circumstanced  tribes  with  whom  they  were  in  affiliation." 

In  view  of  the  correlations  pointed  out  in  preceding  ac- 
counts of  messianic  manifestations,  especial  interest  attaches 
to  the  further  observation,  that,  "  These  phenomena  can  be 
traced  in  the  history  of  the  California  ghost  dance,  imper- 
fect as  our  information  concerning  it  is.  The  Karok  and 
Tolowa  seem  to  have  thrown  themselves  into  the  cult  with 
greater  abandonment  than  the  Yurok.  The  Hupa,  at  least 
to  all  intents,  refused  to  participate.  This  is  perhaps  to  be 
ascribed  to  the  fact  that  they  were  the  only  tribe  in  the  region 
leading  a  stable  and  regulated  reservation  life.  But  it  is 
not  clear  whether  this  circumstance  had  already  led  them  to 
a  conscious  though  reluctant  acceptance  of  the  new  order  of 
things,  or  whether  some  other  specific  cause  must  be  sought." 
[Information  furnished  by  Prof.  A.  L.  Kroeber  from  advance 
pages  of  his  Handbook  of  the  California  Indians,  which  will 
soon  be  published  by  the  American  Bureau  of  Ethnology, 
Washington,  D.  C.] 

About  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth  century,  a  Venezuelan 


150  Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

Indian,  by  the  name  of  Venancio,  proclaimed  himself  the 
Messiah,  the  second  Christ  and  the  messenger  of  the  Cre- 
ator. "  Venancio  used  to  have  his  adherents  beaten.  The 
people  gathered  about  him  to  take  part  in  the  drinking,  wild 
dances  and  other  excesses,  and  gradually  a  large  number  of 
the  Indians  became  his  disciples  and  joined  him  in  his  mad 
actions.  The  disturbances  increased  until  a  young  officer 
with  a  number  of  soldiers  was  sent  to  the  village.  He  drove 
away  the  '  Messiah '  and  his  followers,  not  without  cruelty 
and  the  destruction  of  a  number  of  the  villages,  where  the 
inhabitants  had  accepted  the  new  doctrine."  A  little  later 
a  deserter  bearing  the  name  of  Bazilio  Melgueiro,  proclaimed 
himself  a  new  Christ  and  imitated  the  deeds  of  Venancio. 
[Chamberlain,  op.  cit.,  44.] 

Among  the  Icana  Indians  dwelling  on  the  Cubate,  a  small 
tributary  of  the  Rio  Icana,  lived  in  1903,  Anizetto,  a  Mes- 
siah who,  a  quarter  of  a  century  before,  had  proclaimed 
himself  a  second  Christ,  and  had  secured  a  large  following. 

In  1880  a  savior  appeared  in  the  person  of  a  medicine- 
man of  the  Arapaso,  a  tribe  of  Betoyan  stock,  living  on  the 
central  Caiary-Uaupes.  "  He  called  himself  Vicente  Christo 
and  carried  on  dialogues  with  the  spirits  of  the  dead,  and  with 
'  Tupana,'  the  God  of  the  Christians.  He  and  his  followers 
danced  around  the  cross.  He  asserted  that  he  was  the  rep- 
resentative of  Tupana  and  the  father  of  the  missionaries, 
whom  God,  first  at  his  request,  had  sent  to  the  Caiary. 
Through  the  power  of  his  personality,  he  carried  away  the 
minds  of  the  Indians  all  along  the  river  and  had  a  great 
reputation.  Soon,  however,  he  misused  his  power.  He  bade 
his  followers  drive  away  all  the  whites,  since  they  deceived 
the  Indians.  The  people  on  the  Rio  Negro  were  alarmed 
and  feared  a  rising  of  the  Indians.  So  a  number  of  valiant 
rubber-gatherers  seized  the  '  Messiah,'  gave  him  a  good  beat- 
ing, and  kept  him  in  prison  a  few  days  at  Barcellos.  This 
caused  his  authority  and  his  power  to  dwindle,  and  his  ad- 
herents fell  away.  But  even  to-day  Christo  has  imitators 
on  the  Caiary."  [Koch-Griinberg,  Zwei  \fahre  unter  den 
Indianern.  Reisen  m  Nordwest-BrazHien,  1903-1905,  I,  40. 
Berlin,  1909-10.] 


Messiahs  of  the  North  American  Aborigines       151 

Koch-Griinberg,  from  whom  the  above  account  is  quoted, 
marvels  that  this  messianic  movement  should  break  out  again 
in  the  same  restricted  region,  the  region  occupied  by  the 
Arawakan  tribes.  The  marvel,  if  there  is  one,  is  that  it 
should  occur  at  all  in  this  region.  Once  initiated,  followers 
will  find  it  easy  to  imitate  by  treading  the  path  of  the  origi- 
nator. By  the  criteria  which  we  have  applied,  the  criteria 
of  opression  and  of  endeavor  to  effect  political  or  social  re- 
demption, this  area  is  of  the  entire  South  American  continent 
the  one  most  suited  for  the  appearance  of  the  messianic  faith. 
In  view  of  the  large  number  of  favorable  conditions  with 
which  it  is  there  correlated  we  can  not  view  its  presence  or 
its  persistence  in  this  area  as  merely  fortuitous.  It  is  in 
some  sense  the  outcome  of  those  conditions  where  it  finds 
fertile  soil.  It  rose  in  response  to  a  need  and  it  reappeared 
in  response  to  similar  needs  still  unfulfilled.  The  entire  situ-  / 
ation  is  too  thoroughly  consonant  with  conditions  favorabl^ 
to  the  appearance  of  Messiahs  in  other  portions  of  the  worLfl 
to  admit  of  any  other  interpretation  than  that  here,  too,  we 
have  an  example  of  the  law  that  calls  upon  the  individual  [to 
save  his  group. 

Major  Tarbell  reports  a  Messiah  among  the  Moros,  of 
the  island  of  Mindanao,  Philippines,  who  claimed  to  be  Jesus 
Christ.  He  was  accompanied  by  an  older  man  claiming  to 
be  God  himself.  One  of  the  miracles  they  performed  for  the 
conversion  of  the  incredulous  was  the  breaking  of  what  ap- 
peared to  be  a  solid  iron  bar,  but  was  found  by  Major  Tar- 
bell  to  have  been  soldered.  For  a  while  they  had  the  fol- 
lowing of  almost  the  entire  tribe.  A  Messiah  is  introduced 
by  C.  E.  Kilbourne,  in  his  book,  An  Army  Boy  m  the  Philip- 
pines, and  there  seems  ample  foundation  in  fact  for  this  intro- 
duction. The  Bontoc  Igorot  still  look  for  the  return  of  the 
culture  hero,  Lumawig,  who  will  restore  the  old  tribal  order 
of  things.  [Jenks,  The  Bontoc  Igorot.  Manila,  1895.] 

Ratzel  tells  us  that  as  an  independent  offshoot  of  Christi- 
anity, in  Upolu,  Siovedi,  a  native  of  Savaii,  founded  the 
"  gimblet-religion."  Professing  to  converse  with  God  and 
to  work  miracles,  he  enjoined  a  mutual  confession  of  sins  in 
cases  of  sickness;  and  his  divine  service  was  rendered  spe- 


Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

cially  impressive  by  the  discharge  of  firearms.  Also  in 
Samoa,  a  native,  who  taught  the  invocation  of  the  God  of 
the  Heaven,  brought  with  him  on  his  return  from  the  whale- 
fishery  an  old  woman  who  used  to  "  touch  "  for  diseases  from 
behind  a  curtain,  alleging  that  Christ  resided  within  her. 
[The  History  of  Mankind,  I,  190-1.  London,  1896.  Trans- 
lated by  A.  J.  Butler.] 

According  to  Mr.  D.  Jenness,  a  Messiah  appeared  among 
the  Hau  Haus  of  New  Zealand  about  1880,  and,  in  1912 
one  among  the  Papuans  of  New  Guinea,  near  the  German 
boundary.  [Mr.  Jenness  wrote  me  this  information  Jan.  6, 
1918,  from  a  dug-out  "  Somewhere  in  France,"  and  was  not 
able  to  cite  the  references.] 

There  are  probably  few  other  cases  reported  from  Oceania ; 
and  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  nowhere  in  savagery  have 
Messiahs  flourished  so  abundantly  as  in  the  Americas. 


CHAPTER  VI 

THE    MESSIANIC    IDEA    IN    CHRISTIANITY 

WE  have  given  an  account  of  the  life  of  the  Messianic 
idea  in  Judaism  after  the  time  of  Christ.  In  the 
following  pages  we  wish  to  point  out  something  of  its  devel- 
opment in  Christianity  during  these  same  centuries.  The 
movements  to  which  we  refer  are  almost  exclusively  extra- 
theological  but  not  entirely  so.  In  some  cases  the  ideas  are 
a  blend  of  elements  taken  in  part  from  Judaism  and  in  part 
from  Christianity.  This  applies  especially  to  the  sect  which 
we  shall  first  describe,  and  which  was  one  of  the  earliest  of 
them,  namely, 

The  Ebionites 

This  sect  arose  in  Judaeo-Christian  circles  in  the  early  cen- 
turies A.  D.  Its  members  regarded  Christ  as  a  revived  Moses. 
At  basis  it  was  an  attempt  to  combine  what  was  charac- 
teristic of  Judaism  with  a  faith  in  Jesus  as  the  Messiah. 
Cerinthus,  one  of  the  leading  Ebionite  scholars,  rejected  the 
preexistence  of  Christ  and  taught  the  millennial  reign  of  the 
Messiah  in  Jerusalem,  [Ebionism,  in  Hastings'  E.R.E.,  V, 
139-45.  Sec.  on  Ebionites,  in  Ib.,  VII,  533.  Eschatology, 
Ib.,  V,  388.]  whither  he  would  return  to  triumph  over  anti- 
Christ.  [Ebionites  in  Catholic  Ency.,  V,  243,  and  in  Ency, 
Britt.,  VIII,  842;  Clementine  Literature,  in  Ency.  Britt., 
VI,  492.  Ebionism,  Diet,  of  Apostolic  Church,  I,  139-40.] 
Similarly,  Justin  (Dial.,  80)  believed  that  the  seat  of  the 
Messiah's  kingdom  would  be  a  restored  Jerusalem,  where  all 
believers,  together  with  the  patriarchs  and  the  prophets, 
would  enjoy  happiness  for  over  one  thousand  years.  [Mil- 
lennium, Ency.  Bibl.,  Ill,  3097.] 

153 


154  Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

Elkesaites 

The  Elkesaites,  or  Elchasaites,  a  branch  of  the  Ebionites, 
was  a  Jewish-Christian  sect  which  arose  in  Palestine,  or  east 
of  the  Jordan,  about  100'  A.  D.  In  their  later  development 
they  promulgated  the  doctrine  that  Christ  had  appeared 
often  in  the  course  of  the  world's  history.  He  was  fash- 
ioned in  Paradise  as  Adam  and  since  that  time  has  appeared 
often  in  the  guise  of  various  personalities,  or  as  a  phantom. 
Although  Jesus  of  Nazareth  was  one  of  the  incarnations  of 
the  Christ,  Elkesai,  the  founder  of  the  sect,  was  as  truly  an 
incarnation,  the  latest  and  most  notable  manifestation  of  the 
great  being.  Though  Elkesai  himself  made  no  such  claims 
—  they  would  have  been  inconsistent  with  his  declaration 
that  the  Son  of  God  had  appeared  to  him  in  a  form  of  enor- 
mous proportions  —  his  followers  bestowed  this  doubtful 
honor  upon  him.  [They  described  Christ  as  an  angel  ninety- 
six  miles  high,  accompanied  by  a  female  angel  of  the  same 
stature.  He  was  of  human  parentage  and  had  appeared 
after  his  incarnation  as  Jesus  of  Nazareth.  Ebionites,  in 
Ency.  Britt.,  VIII,  842.  Elcesaites,  in  Cath.  Ency.,  V,  372. 
Elkesaites,  in  Hastings'  E.R.E.,  V,  262-9.  Cerinthus, 
Cerinthians,  Ib.,  Ill,  318-20.  Cerinthus  (last  quarter  of 
the  first  century  A.  D.)  looked  upon  Jesus  as  a  mere  incarna- 
tion of  the  Christ.  Cerinthus,  Diet,  of  the  Apostolic  Church, 
I,  172.  J.  F.  Hurst,  History  of  the  Christian  Church,  I, 
207-13,  320,  431.  New  York,  1897.  W.  Moeller,  History  of 
the  Christian  Church  A.  D.  1-600,  p.  99-103.  London,  1912.] 

Mandaeans 

The  Mandaeans,  another  early  Judeo-Christian  sect,  re- 
.garded  Christ  as  the  leader  and  chief  of  evil  spirits  who  had 
led  mankind  astray.  They  describe  him  as  posing  as  a  won- 
der-worker and  as  being  defeated  by  one  who  performs  still 
greater  miracles.  They  picture  a  restoration  or  millennium 
preceded  by  an  anti-Christ.  Two  hundred  and  forty  years 
after  the  appearance  of  this  false  Messiah  there  came  to  the 
world,  say  their  holy  books,  sixty  thousand  saints  out  of 
Pharaoh's  world  to  take  the  place  of  the  Mandaeans  who 


The  Messianic  Idea  in  Christianity  155 

had  been  extirpated  —  though  the  anti-Christ  had  been 
crucified.  [Mandaeans,  in  Ency.  Britt.,  XVII,  556.  Hast- 
ings' E.R.E.,  VIII,  383-384.  New  Inter.  Ency.,  XIV.] 

Euchites 

The  Euchites,  a  sect  sprung  from  Syrian  Monachism, 
which  flourished  from  the  middle  of  the  fourth  century  until 
the  sixth  century,  believed  in  the  liberal  effulgence  of  the 
divine  spirit ;  so  much  so,  that  "  if  an  angel,  a  patriarch,  a 
prophet,  or  Christ  Himself  is  named  to  him,  he  will  reply  in 
each  case:  'That  am  I  myself.5'  [Euchites,  in  Hastings' 
E.R.E.,  V,  571.]  Thus,  the  Euchite  claimed  to  be  not  only 
a  representative,  but  Christ  himself.  The  intensity  of  his 
prayer  brought  him  into  immediate  community  with  the 
Godhead,  which  then  took  up  its  residence  within  him. 
[Messalians,  in  Catholic  Encyclopaedia.]  This  may  be  con- 
sidered a  variation  of  the  belief  entertained  by  the  Eucharists 
to  the  effect  that  the  leadership  of  the  Messianic  ecclesia  in 
Judaea  was,  after  the  death  of  Jesus,  assigned  to  his  brother 
James,  and,  after  him,  for  several  generations,  to  the  oldest 
living  representative  of  his  family.  [Eucharist,  in  Ency. 
Britt.,  IX,  876.] 

Marcionism 

The  founder  of  Marcionism  came  to  Rome  about  140  A.  D. 
He  gave  currency  to  the  belief  that  there  were  two  Christs. 
The  Christ  referred  to  in  the  Old  Testament  prophecies 
would  appear  later  as  the  messenger  of  the  Old  Testament 
God,  and  in  the  manner  therein  depicted.  [Marcionism,  in 
Hastings'  E.R.E.,  VIII,  407.]  Christ  was  not  the  Son  of 
the  God  of  the  Hebrews,  but  of  the  good  God,  not  to  be 
identified  with  the  God  of  the  Covenant.  They  admitted 
that  the  Jewish  Messiah  was  yet  to  come  and  would  found 
a  millennial  kingdom  on  earth.  [Marcionites,  Cath.  Ency., 
IX,  645—9.  Marcion  and  the  Marcionite  Churches,  Encv. 
Britt.,  XVII,  691-3.] 

Montanism 

About  the  beginning  of  the  second  century  A.  D.  Montanus 
began  in  the  Syrian  village  of  Ardaban,  probably  not  far 


156  Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

from  Philadelphia,  his  prophecies  of  the  coming  of  Christ, 
whose  advent  was  placed  at  Pepuza,  west  of  Eumenia,  in  the 
near  future.  Here,  in  the  place  which  he  renamed  Jerusa- 
lem, collected  his  adherents  from  all  quarters.  [Montanism 
(by  H.  J.  Lawlor),  in  Hastings'  E.R.E.,  VIII,  823-31. 
Eschatology,  Ib.,  V,  388  (by  J.  A.  MacCulloch).  Sec.  on 
Montanism  and  Monarchianism,  in  art.,  Heresy  (Christian), 
Ib.,  VI,  616.  J.  F.  Hurst,  I,  233-40,  290  et  al.] 

In  the  days  of  Julius  Africanus,  as  still  earlier  in  the  time 
of  Irenaeus,  the  Messiah  was  expected  in  the  seventh  mil- 
lennium, that  is,  the  sabbath  millennium.  Later  it  was  ar- 
gued that  the  coming  of  the  Messiah  would  be  in  the  middle 
of  the  sixth  day,  meaning,  5500  years  after  the  creation. 
[Irenaeus,  V,  28,  3.  Hastings'  E.R.E.,  III,  605.] 

The  terrible  social  evils  following  upon  the  civil  war, 
brought  on  by  the  double  election  of  Emperors  in  the  four- 
teenth century,  the  dreadful  signs  of  the  Divine  wrath  ex- 
hibited by  the  "  Black  Death,"  made  of  the  sect  known  as 
"  Friends  of  God,"  seers  and  prophets  of  the  Second  Com- 
ing, or  the  End.  [Friends  of  God,  Hastings'  E.R.E.,  VI, 
139.] 

Among  the  Taborites,  prophets  appeared  who  foretold  the 
speedy  end  of  the  age,  and  incited  to  war  in  order  to  clear  the 
way  for  the  reign  of  Christ.  This  intensified  the  resolve  of 
the  authorities  to  nip  all  such  movements  in  the  bud,  and 
they  burned  Hans  Bohm,  who,  in  A.  D.  1476  claimed  a  com- 
mission from  the  Virgin  Mary.  In  1616  appeared  a  work  en- 
titled A  Demonstration  of  the  Coming  of  Christ,  attributed, 
falsely,  to  Basil,  bishop  of  Seleucia  in  the  fifth  century. 

Anabaptists 

In  1531  Melchior  Hoffmann  suspended  baptism  for  two 
years,  intimating  that  the  Lord  would  then  come  to  assume 
the  reigns  of  government  at  Strassburg,  and  usher  in  an  era 
of  peace  and  rest  for  all  the  oppressed.  "  The  effect  was 
magical,  the  religious  and  social  excitement  intense.  In  or- 
der to  be  present  in  Strassburg  when  the  Lord  came,  he 
quietly  returned  to  Strassburg  early  in  1533."  Though  he 


The  Messianic  Idea  in  Christianity  157 

was  thrown  into  prison  and  kept  there  until  his  death  ten 
years  later,  his  doctrine  bore  bloody  fruit  in  the  country  to 
the  north.  Toward  the  end  of  1533  a  horde  of  excited  Ana- 
baptists poured  into  the  city  of  Miinster,  in  Westphalia,  be- 
lieving1 that  the  hour  for  setting  up  Christ's  kingdom  at 
Miinster  as  the  New  Jerusalem,  had  arrived.  "  Jan  Mat- 
thys,  a  baker  of  Haarlem,  a  disciple  of  Hoffman,  inspired 
with  a  fanatical  hatred  of  the  upper  classes,  now  proclaimed 
himself  the  promised  prophet  Enoch,  and  ordered  the  re- 
sumption of  baptism  as  a  final  preparation  for  the  coming 
King.  In  a  short  time  thousands  were  baptised.  In  Janu- 
ary, 1534,  two  of  his  missionaries  entered  Miinster,  where 
they  baptised  Rothmann  and  other  leaders,  and  announced 
the  setting  up  of  the  earthly  kingdom,  in  which  there  should 
be  no  magistracy,  no  law,  no  marriage,  and  no  private  prop- 
erty. Soon  John  of  Leyden,  a  gifted  young  man  of  twenty- 
five  years,  appeared  and  took  over  the  leadership  of  the  new 
theocracy.  Catholics  and  Lutherans  fled,  and  the  city  fell 
completely  into  the  hands  of  these  fanatical  Anabaptists. 
Matthys  now  declared  Miinster  to  be  the  New  Jerusalem,  and 
invited  all  the  oppressed  Anabaptists  thither.  Thousands 
of  deluded  and  persecuted  people  sought  to  reach  this  place 
of  safety  and  happiness,  only  to  be  destroyed  on  the  way  or 
ruined  at  last  in  the  city.  The  city  was  soon  beseiged  by 
the  forces  of  the  bishop,  assisted  by  neighboring  princes, 
while  within  its  walls  murder,  polygamy,  and  crime  ran  riot. 
After  more  than  a  year  of  ever  increasing  shame,  the  terrible 
orgy  ended  in  massacre  and  cruel  torture  in  1535." 

According  to  another  account  this  Matthys,  or  Matthie- 
son,  declared  himself  a  second  Gideon,  and  issued  forth  to 
vanquish  the  enemy,  he  and  all  of  his  party  being  killed  in 
the  affray.  His  place  as  leader  was  then  taken  by  Bock- 
hold,  better  known  as  John  of  Leiden,  who  declared  himself 
the  true  successor  of  David,  claiming  royal  honors  and  ab- 
solute power  in  the  new  Zion.  Visions  from  heaven  conferred 
upon  him  extraordinary  powers.  Under  this  sanction  he 
legalized  polygamy  and  himself  took  four  wives,  one  of  whom 
he  brutally  beheaded  with  his  own  hands  in  the  market  place. 
Soon,  however,  perished  by  the  sword  he  who  had  taken  the 


158  Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

sword,  "  whose  fatal  doctrine  was  that  the  time  of  enduring 
oppression  had  passed  away,  that  the  sword  must  be  drawn, 
and  that  the  true  believers  were  summoned  to  subjugate  the 
kingdoms  of  the  world,  and  especially  Minister."  [Enthusi- 
asts (Religious),  and  Anabaptism,  in  Hastings'  E.R.E.,  V, 
and  I,  resp.  Also  Mennonites,  Ib.,  VIII.  Anabaptists,  in 
Ency.  Britt.] 

The  early  Anabaptists  invariably  regarded  any  religious 
reform  as  involving  social  amelioration,  the  socialism  of 
the  sixteenth  century  being  largely  Anabaptist.  Thomas 
Miinzer  had  believed  in  the  use  of  the  sword,  and  his  power- 
ful personality  had  given  the  whole  movement  in  Germany 
a  fanatical  and  dangerous  chiliastic  bent,  which  brought 
ruin  upon  his  cause.  "  From  the  belief  of  Hoffmann  that 
Christ  was  soon  to  set  up  His  Kingdom  on  earth  and  de- 
stroy the  wicked,  it  was  but  a  step  to  the  effort  to  set  up 
the  kingdom  by  destroying  the  wicked,  and  we  have  the 
'  fanatical  *  Anabaptists  and  John  of  Leyden's  horrible 
'  kingdom  '  at  Minister  as  the  outcome."  [Hastings'  E.R.E., 
I,  411.] 

It  was  during  the  time  of  Luther  that  Thomas  Miinzer,  a 
delegate  from  the  founder  of  Protestantism  sent  to  deter- 
mine the  legitimacy  of  the  claims  of  the  prophet  Nicholas 
Storch,  went  to  Prague  and  announced  the  dawn  of  the  new 
dispensation,  with  the  redress  of  all  social  grievances.  "  Re- 
turning to  Saxony,  he  initiated  a  communistic  system,  which 
he  declared  to  be  Divinely  ordered.  Banished  by  Luther's 
influence,  he  spread  his  views  in  Nuremberg  and  Switzerland, 
and  then  returned  to  Miihlhausen,  through  the  districts  where 
the  Peasants  War  was  raging.  Here  he  convinced  them  of 
his  mission  so  that  their  social  program  was  backed  by  the 
conviction  that  God  was  directing  them  through  this 
prophet." 

The  movement  initiated  by  Miinzer  bore  further  fruit  in 
the  labors  of  Melchior  Hoffmann,  a  leather-dresser  from 
Swabia  who  was  teaching  east  of  the  Baltic.  He  calculated 
the  end  of  the  age  as  coming  in  the  year  1533,  though  he 
seems  to  have  hit  upon  this  prior  to  the  activity  of  Miinzer. 
From  Sweden  he  travelled  through  Denmark  and  Friesland 


The  Messianic  Idea  in  Christianity  159 

to  Strassburg,  where  he  arrived  in  15&9.  He  now  devoted 
himself  to  an  exposition  of  the  Apocalypse,  expanding  the 
idea  that  the  few  years  left  were  the  period  of  the  Two  Wit- 
nesses. In  Leonard  and  Ursula  Jost  he  recognized  inspired 
prophets,  he  himself  becoming  Elijah,  the  inspired  inter- 
preter. Driven  out  of  Strassburg,  he  travelled  through  the 
Netherlands  and  Westphalia,  transforming  the  Anabaptist 
movement  till  it  was  thoroughly  impregnated  with  millennial 
views.  He  announced  that  Strassburg  was  the  New  Jerusa- 
lem, whence  the  armies  of  the  Lord  would  destroy  His  ene- 
mies ;  he  accordingly  repaired  thither  to  prepare  for  the 
fated  day.  A  few  weeks  after  his  arrival  in  the  New  Jerusa- 
lem he  was  thrown  into  prison.  Here  he  lingered  several 
years.  Since  the  predicted  day  did  not  arrive  as  scheduled, 
he  revised  his  calculations  from  time  to  time,  but  never  gave 
up  his  fundamental  conviction,  though  he  became  aware  of 
the  outbreak  of  civil  war  consequent  upon  his  teachings. 

Fifth  Monarchy  Men 

The  Fifth  Monarchy  Men  was  a  Puritan  sect  which  arose 
in  England  and  at  first  supported  the  government  of  Oliver 
Cromwell,  in  the  belief  that  it  was  a  preparation  for  the 
"  fifth  monarchy."  By  this  they  meant,  following  the 
prophecy  in  Daniel,  the  monarchy  succeeding  the  Assyrian, 
Persian,  Greek,  and  Roman,  the  age  when  Christ  should  reign 
on  earth  with  his  saints  for  a  thousand  years.  They  wished 
to  abolish  all  existing  laws  and  customs  and  substitute  the 
code  of  Moses. 

The  Fifth  Monarchy  Men  did  not  long  remain  faithful  to 
Cromwell.  Their  revolt  is  described  t>y  Carlyle  among  the 
happenings  of  Thursday,  April  9,  1657 : 

"  The  Fifth-Monarchy,  headed  mainly  by  one  Venner,  a 
Wine-Cooper,  and  other  civic  individuals  of  the  old  Feak- 
and-Powel  species  whom  we  have  transiently  seen  emitting 
soot  and  fire  before  now,  has  for  a  long  time  been  concocting 
underground;  and  Thurloe  and  his  Highness  [i.e.,  Crom- 
well] have  had  eye  on  it.  The  Fifth  Monarchy  has  decided 
that  it  will  rise  this  Thursday,  expel  carnal  sovereignties; 


160  Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

•  and  call  on  the  Christian  population  to  introduce  a  Reign 
of  Christ, —  which  it  is  thought,  if  a  beginning  were  once 
made,  they  will  be  very  forward  to  do.  Let  us  rendezvous 
on  Mile-End  Green  this  day,  with  sword  and  musket,  and 
assured  heart :  perhaps  General  Harrison,  Colonel  Okey,  one 
knows  not  who,  will  join  us, —  perhaps  a  miracle  will  be 
wrought,  such  as  heaven  might  work  in  such  a  case,  and  the 
reign  of  Christ  actually  take  effect. 

"  Alas,  Heaven  wrought  no  miracle :  Heaven  and  his  High- 
ness sent  a  Troop  of  Horse  into  the  Mile-End  region,  early 
in  the  morning;  seized  Venner  and  some  twenty  ringleaders, 
just  coming  for  the  rendezvous ;  seized  chests  of  arms,  many 
copies  of  a  flaming  Pamphlet  or  War-manifesto  with  title 
A  standard  set  up;  seized  also  a  War-flag  with  Lion 
Couchant  painted  on  it,  Lion  of  the  Tribe  of  Judah,  and  this 
motto,  'Who  shall  rouse  him  up?'  .  .  .  But  in  two  days' 
time,  these  ancient  individuals  and  they  are  all  lodged  in  the 
Tower."  [Thomas  Carlyle,  Oliver  Cromwell's  Letters  and 
Speeches  with  Elucidations,  Vol.  Ill,  Pt.  X,  Speech  IX. 
Albany,  N.  Y.,  1889.  The  belief  of  the  Fifth  Monarchy 
Men  that  neither  bullets  nor  steel  could  injure  them  recalls 
identical  beliefs  in  North  America,  the  Sudan,  and  India.] 

Other  Messianic  Movements  m  England  and  Scotland 

About  1633  Arise  Evans  gave  warnings  that  the  kingdom 
of  Charles  was  doomed.  Two  years  later  he  renewed  the 
message,  and  was  punished  by  imprisonment  for  his  kindness. 
When  the  Civil  War  broke  out  he  received  a  revelation  to 
uphold  the  Established  Church,  and  attacked  the  General 
Baptists.  When  his  inspiration  was  challenged  he  offered 
in  confirmation  of  it  a  prediction  which  was  to  be  fulfilled  in 
a  week.  Its  success  confirmed  him  and  he  was  permitted  to 
continue  his  admonition  of  the  ruling  powers,  though  these 
admonitions  seemed  to  be  without  success. 

The  political  turmoil  of  the  time  of  Cromwell  and  of 
Charles  I  gave  rise  to  numerous  prophets.  Among  these  was 
Anna  Trapnel,  who  entered  on  her  career  about  1643.  She 
is  known  to  have  joined  the  Allhallows  church,  of  the  Fifth- 


The  Messianic  Idea  in  Christianity  161 

Monarchy  persuasion,  in  1650.  Soon  after  the  dissolution 
of  the  Nominated  Parliament,  three  books  of  her  prophecies 
were  published.  Her  activity  was  greatest  during  the  year 
preceding  the  death  of  Cromwell.  She  went  into  trances, 
and  spoke  her  prophecies  in  rude  rhyme  so  rapidly  that  she 
could,  with  difficulty,  be  reported.  She  referred  to  herself 
as  the  poor  Instrument,  or  the  Voice.  "  The  burden  of  the 
new  teaching  was  the  immanent  return  of  Christ,  as  soon  as 
the  three  and  one-half  times  were  fulfilled." 

In  1770,  as  Ann  Lee,  a  leader  of  the  Shaker  sect,  lay  in 
an  English  prison,  she  had  a  revelation  in  which  the  nature 
of  sin  and  the  reality  of  the  eternal  life  was  unfolded  to  her. 
She  believed  that  Christ  was  incarnate  in  her.  Members 
of  the  order  acknowledged  this  claim  and  called  her  "  Mother 
Ann."  [Hastings'  E.R.E.,  III,  782.] 

Joanna  Southcott,  born  in  Devonshire,  England,  about 
1750,  founder  of  the  sect  of  the  Southcottians,  or  South- 
cotters,  declared  herself,  when  past  sixty  years  of  age,  to  be 
pregnant  with  another  Messiah,  one  whose  name  was  to  be 
Shiloh.  "  Her  followers  made  costly  preparations  for  the 
birth  of  their  expected  prince,  and  had  a  cradle  constructed 
at  an  expense  of  two  hundred  pounds  (about  a  thousand 
dollars).  The  disease  by  which  she  was  deceived  terminated 
her  death ;  but  her  deluded  disciples,  after  having  been  com- 
pelled to  inter  her,  persisted  in  the  belief  that  she  was  to 
bear  the  Shiloh,  and  gave  out  that  she  would  rise  again  with 
the  child  in  her  arms.  Mr.  Foley,  rector  of  Old  Swinford, 
near  Stourbridge,  was  said  to  be  a  firm  believer  in  the  resur- 
rection of  the  prophetess;  and  another  clergyman  used  to 
go  regularly  to  expound  her  writings  at  Bristol.  The 
Southcotters  abound  principally  in  the  northern  counties. 
At  Ashton-under-Lyne,  they  have  a  splendid  temple,  which 
cost  them  nine  thousand  pounds  ($45,000).  Their  worship 
is  described  as  awfully  wild  and  tumultuous.  The  men  are 
known  by  their  wearing  long  beards  and  brown  hats.  At 
present  [the  account  was  written  before  1880]  it  seems,  both 
warning  and  sealing  have  subsided ;  they  are  waiting  in  awful 
suspense  for  the  commencement  of  the  thousand  years'  reign 
on  the  earth.  Yet  it  is  said  that  they  do  not  mean  that 


Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

Christ  will  come  in  person,  but  in  spirit,  and  that  the  sealed 
who  are  dead  before  that  time  will  be  raised  from  their  graves 
to  partake  of  this  happy  state."  To  those  who  believed  in 
her  mission  and  who  subscribed  to  the  things  revealed  to  her 
in  her  "  Warning,"  Joanna  gave  a  sealed  written  paper  bear- 
ing her  signature.  This  they  obtained  for  half  a  crown 
(about  sixty  cents).  It  sealed  the  possessor  against  the 
day  of  judgment,  and  assured  signal  honor  from  the  Mes- 
siah when  he  should  come  again.  [Cyclopedia  of  Bib., 
Theol.,  and  Eccl.  Literature,  IX,  896-7.] 

John  Barclay,  the  founder  (in  1773)  of  the  Berearis,  a 
sect  which  originated  in  Edinburgh,  found  strong  messianic 
leanings  in  the  Psalms,  believing  that  in  this  he  was  following 
the  apostles.  He  translated  the  Psalms  into  English  verse, 
bringing  out,  in  each  line,  the  Messianic  aspiration  that  he 
believed  to  be  hidden  in  it  in  the  original.  For  him.  prac- 
tically every  verse  was  laden  with  a  messianic  message. 
[Bereans,  in  Hastings'  E.R.E.,  II,  523.] 

Edward  Irving,  born  in  Scotland  in  1792,  the  founder  of 
a  sect  named  after  him,  published  a  book  on  The  Coming  of 
the  Messiah  in  Glory  and  Majesty,  in  which  he  declared  his 
ardent  belief  in  the  personal  rule  of  Christ  on  earth. 

The  appearance  of  "  gifts  "  was  to  be  the  sign  of  the  ap- 
proach of  the  Son  of  Man.  The  apostle  was  constituted 
for  the  "  ingathering  of  the  nations."  Evangelists  were  at 
first  sent  out  into  the  highways;  apostolic  journeys  were 
undertaken  in  Europe  and  elsewhere ;  their  obj  ect  was  not  to 
propagate  the  gospel  in  the  spirit  and  on  the  method  of  the 
great  missionary  societies,  but  to  bear  final  testimony  before 
nations  and  kings  to  the  coming  of  the  Day  of  the  Lord. 
"  The  witnesses  had  no  zeal  for  the  extension  of  the  Church, 
but  for  its  preparation  as  a  bride  for  her  husband.  If  they 
were  in  a  peculiar  sense  God's  people,  it  was  only  because 
they  were  aroused,  expectant,  waiting  for  the  final  baptism. 
Their  testimony  given,  they  were  content  to  wait  in  spiritual 
readiness  for  the  rending  of  the  heavens."  [Irving  and  the 
Catholic  Apostolic  Church,  Hastings'  E.R.E.,  VII,  425.] 

This  Catholic  Apostolic  Church,  as  it  is  sometimes  called, 
has  apostles  who  are  channels  of  the  Holy  Ghost  and  of 


The  Messianic  Idea  in  Christianity  163 

the  mysteries  of  God.  The  "  prophets  "  explain  scripture 
and  exhort  to  holiness.  For  ecclesiastical  purposes  the 
church  is  in  twelve  tribes,  placed  under  a  central  episcopacy 
of  forty-eight  members,  though  this  existed  on  paper,  rather 
than  in  fact,  as  an  ideal  plan.  The  last  "  apostle  "  died  on 
February  3,  1901.  The  liturgy  dates  from  1842  and  is 
based  on  liturgies  of  the  Anglican,  Roman  and  Greek 
churches.  Lights,  incense,  vestments,  holy  water,  and 
chrism,  are  in  constant  use.  The  congregation  is  presided 
over  by  its  "  angel  "  or  bishop. 

In  1864  a  woman  in  England,  by  the  name  of  Mary  Ann 
Girling,  proclaimed  herself  the  final  revelation  of  God.  Her 
teachings  were  concerned  primarily  with  conduct,  inculcating 
celibacy  and  communism.  Part  of  her  doctrine  was  her 
own  immortality.  Her  death  in  1886  ruined  the  cause. 
[Hastings'  E.R.E.,  V,  319.] 

About  half  a  century  ago  James  White  organized  The 
New  and  Latter  House  of  Israel  in  Kent  County,  England. 
At  Christ's  reappearance  144,000  redeemed  souls  were  to 
greet  him  and  reign  with  him.  The  chief  relic  of  these  Jez- 
reelites  is  an  enormous  unfinished  building,  near  Gillingham. 

The  Camisards 

The  Camisards,  who  escaped  from  France  early  in  the 
eighteenth  century  and  took  refuge  in  England,  where  they 
were  known  as  the  French  Prophets,  prophesied  and  worked 
miracles,  preached  communism,  and  heralded  the  advent  of 
a  Messiah  who  was  about  to  establish  his  kingdom  with  terri- 
ble consequent  doom  for  the  wicked.  Even  among  the  Eng- 
lish they  gained  a  considerable  following,  but  a  quietus  finally 
had  to  be  put  on  their  meetings  and  they  were  brought  into 
discredit  in  1708  when  they  proclaimed  that  on  May  &5th 
of  that  year,  one  of  their  number,  Thomas  Ernes,  would  rise 
from  the  dead.  His  failure  to  fulfil  the  prophecy  of  his  co- 
religionists brought  about  the  rapid  decay  of  that  sect, 
[Camisards,  Hastings'  E.R.E.  New  Inter.  Ency.,  IV 
(1914);  Catholic  Ency.,  III.]  and  was  largely  responsible 
for  the  disappearance  of  the  belief  in  a  Messiah  who  was  to 


164  Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

restore  them  to  their  land  and  their  religion.      [Voltaire, 
Siecle  de  Louis  XIV,  p.  xxxvi.     J.  F.  Hurst,  II,  778-9.] 

Adventists 

In  1831  a  certain  William  Miller,  an  American,  after 
careful  study  of  the  Bible  and  especially  the  prophecies  re- 
lating to  the  Messiah,  decided  that  Christ  would  appear  at 
the  end  of  the  world  in  clouds  of  glory  and  would  rule  in 
Canaan,  on  the  throne  of  David,  for  a  period  of  one  thou- 
sand years.  The  two  thousand  three  hundred  days  men- 
tioned by  the  prophet  Daniel  he  considered  as  meaning  years. 
Four  hundred  fifty-three  B.  c.  was  the  commencement  of  the 
seventy  weeks  preceding  the  first  coming.  Four  hundred 
fifty-three  B.  c.  plus  two  thousand  three  hundred  years 
equals  1843.  Hence,  Christ  would  return  in  1843.  He 
had  a  number  of  followers. 

When  the  prediction  failed,  Snow,  a  disciple,  pointed  out 
that  Miller  had  made  a  misculculation,  the  proper  date  being 
October  £2,  1844.  As  the  day  approached  groups  of  fol- 
lowers put  aside  all  earthly  occupations  and  fervently 
awaited  the  expected  coming.  Though  again  doomed  to 
disappointment  they  met  in  conference  at  Albany,  New 
York,  in  1845,  and  formulated  their  faith  in  the  near  com- 
ing, in  the  flesh,  of  the  Son  of  God.  Though  they  have 
since  divided  into  six  independent  denominations  this  has 
remained  a  fundamental  tenet  of  their  creeds.  [Adventists, 
Second,  in  Ency.  Britt.,  I;  in  New  Intern.  Ency.,  I,  158;  in 
Catholic  Ency.,  I,  166.  A  popular  work  has  been  C.  T. 
Russel,  Tine  Millennial  Dawn.  %  vols.  Allegheny,  Pa.,  1889. 
It  is  little  more  than  a  continuance  of  the  confusion  intro- 
duced by  the  early  Christians  when  they  mingled  Biblical 
accounts  of  the  second  advent  of  Christ  with  the  ideas  of 
the  Stoics  as  to  a  universal  conflagration.  See  art.  by 
Troeltsch,  Histography,  Hastings'  E.R.E.,  VI,  717.] 

Friends  of  ttye  Temple 

Similar  to  the  Adventists  are  the  Friends  of  the  Temple, 
a  sect  which  originated  in  Wurtemberg  in  1861,  and  soon 


The  Messianic  Idea  in  Christianity  165 

established  its  headquarters  in  Palestine.  Its  members  ex- 
pect the  return  of  Christ  in  the  near  future.  [Hastings' 
E.R.E.,  VI, 


The  Overcomers 

A  sect  known  as  the  Overcomers,  holding  views  similar  to 
the  Adventists,  originated  in  Chicago  in  1881.  Its  mem- 
bers later  emigrated  to  Jerusalem,  where  they  prefer  to  be 
known  as  the  American  Colony  in  Jerusalem.  They  hold 
communistic  views  about  property,  accept  the  prophecies 
literally,  and  await  the  speedy  coming  of  Christ.  They 
have  acquired  a  few  converts  and  live  a  life  of  simple  indus- 
try and  charity.  [See  the  accounts  given  in  The  New  In- 
ternational Ency.,  and  in  The  Americana.  The  writer  had 
an  opportunity  to  visit  this  colony  a  few  years  ago.] 

The  Theosophists 

The  most  ardent  believers  of  the  present  day  in  the  return 
of  Christ  are  the  Theosophists,  a  pseudo-philosophical  and 
religious  sect  that  seems  to  flourish  most  extravagantly  in 
India  and,  among  western  countries,  in  ttye  State  of  Cali- 
fornia. Their  doctrines  are  a  mixture  of  vague  discourses 
on  matters  passing  beyond  the  realm  of  experience:  of  the 
Infinite  ;  of  mysticism  ;  effulgences  ;  emanations  ;  the  cosmic  ; 
essences.  They  discourse  wordily  in  terms  of  Hindu  phi- 
losophy, of  rebirths,  reincarnations,  triumph  of  spirit  over 
matter,  the  ascendancy  of  spirit.  Christ,  as  well  as  all  great 
prophets,  will  be  reborn  —  has  been  reborn  often.  [See 
especially,  the  numerous  books  of  Mrs.  Annie  Besant;  for 
example,  The  Changing  World.  Chicago,  1910.  Esoteric 
Christianity.  Los  Angeles,  1913.  Reincarnation.  London, 
1915.] 

Theosophy  seems  not  altogether  apart  from  political  in- 
trigues. In  September,  1917,  Mrs.  Besant  was  reported  to 
have  been  arrested  by  the  British  for  inciting  political  trou- 
bles in  India,  where  she  was  then  travelling  and  lecturing. 
A  few  years  ago  she  was  said  to  be  regarded  by  the  English- 
speaking  Hindus  as  the  goddess  Saraswati  herself;  they  were 
ready  to  give  her  a  place  in  their  pantheon  as  one  of  the 


166  Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

defenders  of  their  faith  against  the  mighty  influences  of  the 
West.  [J.  P.  Jones,  India,  Its  Life  and  Thought,  404-11. 
New  York,  1908.] 

About  the  middle  of  the  last  century  George  Gilfillan,  a 
Scotchman,  gave  expression  to  his  hope  and  expectation  of 
the  Second  Coming,  based  on  present  disasters.  "  We  expect 
that  our  increasing  dangers  and  multiplying  foes,  that  the 
thousand-fold  might  that  seems  rushing  upon  us,  is  a  token 
that  aid  is  coming,  and  that  our  Achilles  shall  '  no  more  be 
silent  but  speak  out,'  shall  lift  his  '  bow,  his  thunder,  and  his 
almighty  arm  ' —  shall  take  unto  him  his  great  power  and 
reign."  [Bards  of  the  Bible,  336ff.  Edinburg,  1852.  Pa- 
rusia,  in  Hastings'  E.R.E.,  IX,  636-7.] 

The  European  war  has  aroused  hopes  and  expectations 
of  the  near  approach  of  the  return  of  the  Messiah  in  other 
hearts  than  the  Adventists.  At  this  time  (1918)  the 
public,  both  lay  and  clerical,  is  more  tolerant  of  some  of 
these  expressions  than  it  would  be  in  ordinary  times.  Scott 
Anderson,  a  lecturer  and  formerly  a  pastor  in  Los  Angeles, 
California,  is  heralded  by  those  who  advertise  his  coming  as 
one  who  "  gives  a  Scriptural  interpretation  of  the  great  war 
and  describes  the  glory  that  is  to  follow  the  early  inaugura- 
tion of  Messiah's  kingdom."  In  an  address  made  in  Fresno, 
California,  on  July  29,  1917,  he  is  reported  as  saying: 

"  Messiah  will  not  compromise  with  satan  concerning  the 
rulership  of  the  world,  and  this  great  tribulation  (i.  e.,  the 
war)  is  permitted  for  the  complete  overthrow  of  the  adver- 
sary and  all  the  evil  institutions  instigated  by  him  among 
the  children  of  men,  and  not  one  vestige  of  them  will  remain. 

"  The  lease  of  power  to  the  Gentile  nations  expired  in 
1914;  satan  is  moving  out  and  Christ  is  moving  in  —  hence 
the  great  commotion  incident  to  the  transfer  of  world  do- 
minion. '  The  kingdoms  of  this  world  shall  become  the  king- 
dom of  our  Lord  and  His  Christ.'  As  Christians  our  al- 
legiance is  to  king  Jesus. 

".  .  .  Babylon  will  be  destroyed  by  the  same  mighty  army 
that  will  overthrow  the  kings  of  the  earth.  Following  the 


The  Messianic  Idea  in  Christianity  167 

great  tribulation  Messiah's  glorious  kingdom  will  be  fully 
inaugurated  in  power  and  glory,  the  dead  will  be  awakened 
and  the  world  of  mankind  will  be  blessed."  [Reported  in  the 
Fresno  (California)  Republican,  July  30,  1917.] 

A  similar  doctrine  was  preached  in  Zeichen  der  Zeit,  in 
June,  1917.  [A  paper  of  the  German  Evangelical  Lutheran 
Church,  published  in  Brookfield,  Illinois.]  An  article  en- 
titled "  The  Approaching  End,"  points  out  how  we  know 
that  the  end  of  all  things  approaches  —  yea,  is  already  at 
hand.  There  are  quotations  from  the  New  Testament  (espe- 
cially Matth.  24:33,  2  Peter  3:3  and  4?)  showing  that  the 
end  is  to  be  preceded  by  some  great  catastrophe ;  there  are 
signs  that  the  reappearance  of  Christ  is  near  at  hand;  the 
heavens  have  been  witnesses  (Joel  3:3-4;  Luke  £1:25-8), 
sun,  moon,  and  stars  have  proclaimed  the  advent :  "  UBERAI/L 
HORT  MAN  DIE  FEIERLICHE  WARNUNGSBOTSCHAFT  :  "  Der 
Herr  kommt ;  das  Gericht  ist  nahe  herbeigekommen ;  der  Tag 
seines  Zornes  ist  nahe." 

These  are  not  isolated  tendencies  nor  are  they  heresies. 
The  churches  have  accepted  this  interpretation  and  have 
fanned  the  flames.  One  writer  estimates  that  "  in  probably 
ninety  per  cent  of  the  Bible  summer  schools,  which  assemble 
this  season  [1917]  in  numbers  larger  than  ever,  this  doc- 
trine will  be  openly  or  surreptitiously  exploited.  It  is  being 
taught  from  hundreds  of  pulpits,  and  Bible  classes  all  over 
the  country  are  led  by  devious  windings  through  the  sacred 
literature  to  this  certain  goal  of  the  teachers'  exegesis." 
[ J.  E.  McAfee,  in  The  New  Republic,  August  18,  1917,  Vol. 
12,  No.  146,  p.  72.  For  a  discussion  of  the  belief  in  the 
return  of  Christ  see  G.  R.  Noyes,  A  Collection  of  Theological 
Essays,  393-402,  Boston,  1891.] 

Another  example  may  be  given  from  the  War  Extra  of  the 
Bible  Students  Monthly,  Vol.  IX,  No.  5,  published  in  Brook- 
lyn, N.  Y.,  wherein  we  are  assured  that,  "  We  are  to-day  in 
the  closing  hours  of  the  period  allotted  by  God  for  the  selec- 
tion of  the  Church,  and  6  THE  KINGDOM  OF  HEAVEN  is  AT 
HAND,' —  now  in  the  full  sense  of  its  establishment  in  the 
earth.  The  institutions  of  '  this  present  evil  world '  are 
passing  away  in  a  great  Time  of  Trouble,  and  soon  the  Lord 


168  Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

will  establish  His  Kingdom  of  Righteousness,  which  will  deal 
out  justice  to  all  humanity."  Pastor  Russell,  the  founder 
of  this  publication,  it  seems,  insistently  pointed  to  the  near- 
ness of  Messiah's  Kingdom.  "  Time  and  again,  orally  and 
through  the  public  press,  he  announced  to  the  peoples  of 
earth  that  the  Age  was  now  closing  and  would  pass  away 
with  a  great  Time  of  Trouble,  due  to  begin,  according  to 
Bible  chronology,  in  1914,  and  that  this  trouble  would 
eventuate  in  the  greatest  revolution  and  most  destructive 
anarchy  the  earth  has  ever  known,  to  be  followed  immedi- 
ately by  the  full  setting  up  of  Messiah's  Kingdom  of  ever- 
lasting peace,  which  would  bring  blessings  to  all  the  peoples 
of  the  world  —  the  living  and  the  dead," —  and  similar  words 
of  inspiration  to  console  the  expectant. 

Reincarnations  of  Christ 

We  have  already  referred  to  some  of  the  alleged  reincar- 
nations of  Christ,  and  little  remains  to  be  added  except  a  few 
more  examples  of  this  belief.  One  of  these  reincarnations 
was  Savely  Kapustin.  This  man  was  a  Prussian  officer  and 
a  Quaker,  the  leader  of  the  Doukhobors,  a  Russian  Sect  of 
Christians  which  originated  early  in  the  nineteenth  century. 
He  gained  such  power  over  his  fellows  that  he  was  able  to 
proclaim  himself  to  them  as  the  reincarnated  Christ,  and  to 
allow  them  to  share  divine  honors  with  him.  His  followers, 
however,  were  forbidden  to  acknowledge  allegiance  to  any 
earthly  leader.  [Doukhobors,  in  Hastings'  E.R.E.,  IV, 
865-7*.  Ency.  Britt.,  VII,  314.]  In  spite  of  this  injunc- 
tion, however,  they  consider  Christ  as  only  a  man  of  godlike 
intellect  whose  soul  has  migrated  into  many  mortals,  among 
whom  Kolesnikov,  an  early  sponsor,  is  included,  along  with 
Kapustin.  [Dukhobortsy,  New  Inter.  Ency.,  VII,  314.] 

In  Russia,  beyond  the  Volga,  Bashkin  started  a  new  faith 
in  which  he  denied  that  Christ  was  equal  with  the  Father, 
and  that  the  bread  and  wine  in  the  Eucharist  were  truly 
the  blood  and  flesh  of  Christ.  This  was  put  down  in 
the  sixteenth  century,  soon  after  its  promulgation,  but  was 
soon  revived  under  Kosoy,  a  Moscovite,  who  declared  Jesus 


The  Messianic  Idea  in  Christianity  169 

was  not  God  but  simply  a  man.  He  rejected  the  theory  of 
Redemption,  the  miracles  performed  by  icons,  and  declared 
it  wrong  to  pray  to  the  saints,  whose  relics  should  be  buried 
and  not  indecently  exposed  in  the  churches.  The  prayers, 
fasts,  and  ceremonies  of  the  Church  had  no  higher  sanction 
than  that  of  human  tradition.  Monasticism  likewise  he  re- 
jected. Soon,  however,  Bashkin  went  the  way  of  most  here- 
tics and  was  condemned  to  confinement  in  a  monastery,  from 
which  he  subsequently  escaped  and  made  his  way  into  Lithu- 
ania. These  movements  can  not  have  failed  to  influence  the 
early  Doukhobors.  It  is  possible,  too,  that  the  Anabaptist 
and  the  Quaker  movements  paved  the  way  to  their  doctrines. 

Ilarion  Pobirohin,  a  well-to-do  wool  dealer  living  in  the 
village  of  Goreloe,  in  Tambor,  upon  adopting  the  Doukhobor 
faith,  was  not  content  with  being  a  son  of  God,  like  the 
others,  but  claimed  to  be  Christ.  He  immediately  estab- 
lished a  theocratic  despotism,  choosing  twelve  apostles  and 
as  many  "  Death-bearing  Angels  "  appointed  to  punish  those 
who  relapsed  from  the  faith  after  once  having  given  it  their 
adherence. 

Adrian  Pushkin,  a  merchant  of  Perm,  became  possessed 
of  a  craze  that  he  was  a  new  incarnation  of  Christ,  and  sent 
a  paper  to  the  Holy  Synod  to  establish  his  claims.  His 
frankness  was  punished  with  strict  solitary  confinement  for 
fifteen  years ;  he  was  released  when  a  broken  old  man,  only 
to  die  a  few  months  afterward. 

To  Kapustin  the  Doukhobor  are  said  to  have  bowed  "  as 
before  the  Deity."  [A.  Maude,  A  Peculiar  People:  The 
Doukhobors,  20,  129,  145,  152,  164?,  173,  178.  London,  no 
date.]  He,  upon  his  part,  "  ruled  like  a  king,  or  rather  a 
prophet.  He  expounded  the  tenets  of  the  Doukhobors  in  a 
manner  to  turn  them  to  his  own  peculiar  profit  and  advan- 
tage. He  attached  peculiar  importance  to  the  doctrine  of 
the  transmigration  of  souls,  which  was  already  known  to 
them ;  he  also  taught  that  Christ  is  born  again  in  every  be- 
liever; that  God  is  in  every  one,  for  when  the  Word  became 
flesh  it  became  this  (i.  e.,  man  in  the  world)  for  all  time, 
like  everything  divine.  But  each  human  soul,  at  least  as 
long  as  the  created  world  exists,  remains  a  distinct  individual. 


170  Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

Now,  when  God  descended  into  the  individuality  of  Jesus  as 
Christ,  He  sought  out  the  purest  and  most  perfect  man  that 
ever  existed,  and  the  soul  of  Jesus  was  the  purest  and  most 
perfect  of  all  human  souls.  God,  since  the  time  when  he  first 
revealed  himself  in  Jesus,  has  always  remained  in  the  human 
race,  and  dwells  and  reveals  Himself  in  every  believer.  But 
the  individual  soul  of  Jesus,  where  has  it  been?  By  virtue 
of  the  law  of  the  transmigration  of  souls  it  must  necessarily 
have  animated  another  human  body !  Jesus  himself  said,  '  I 
am  with  you  always,  until  the  end  of  the  world.'  Thus  the 
soul  of  Jesus,  favored  by  God  above  all  human  souls,  has 
from  generation  to  generation  continually  animated  new 
bodies ;  and  by  virtue  of  its  higher  qualities,  and  by  the 
peculiar  and  absolute  command  of  God,  it  has  invariably  re- 
tained a  remembrance  of  its  previous  condition.  Every  man, 
therefore,  in  whom  it  resided  knew  that  the  soul  of  Jesus 
was  in  him.  In  the  first  centuries  after  Christ  this  was  so 
universally  acknowledged  among  believers,  that  every  one 
recognized  the  new  Jesus,  who  was  the  guide  and  ruler  of 
Christendom,  and  decided  all  disputes  respecting  the  faith. 
The  Jesus  thus  always  born  again  was  called  Pope.  False 
Popes,  however,  soon  obtained  possession  of  the  throne  of 
Jesus;  but  the  true  Jesus  only  retained  a  small  band  of 
believers  about  him,  as  he  predicted  in  the  New  Testament, 
'  Many  are  called,  but  few  are  chosen.'  These  believers  are 
the  Doukhobors,  among  whom  Jesus  constantly  dwells,  his 
soul  animating  one  of  them.  '  Thus  Sylvan  Kolesnikof ,  of 
Nilolsk,'  said  Kapustin,  '  whom  the  older  among  you  knew, 
was  Jesus ;  but  now,  as  truly  as  the  heaven  is  above  me  and 
earth  under  my  feet,  I  am  the  true  Jesus  Christ  your 
Lord ! '  [Baron  A.  von  Haxthausen,  Studien  uber  die 
inneren  Zustande,  das  Volkleben,  und  insbesondere  die 
landlichen  Einrichtwngen  Russlands.  3  vols.  1847-52.] 

Even  Leo  Tolstoy  referred  to  the  religion  of  the  Doukho- 
bors as  "  the  germinating  of  that  seed  sown  by  Christ  eight- 
een hundred  years  ago:  the  resurrection  of  Christ  himself," 
finding  the  realization  of  the  Christian  life  in  "  the  existence 
and  gathering  together  of  people  who  even  now  realize  that 
toward  which  we  are  all  striving.  And  behold,  these  people 


The  Messianic  Idea  in  Christianity  171 

exist!"  [Vladimir  Tchertkoff,  Christian  Martyrdom  in 
Russia.  London,  1897.  J.  W.  Bienstock,  Tolstoi  et  les 
Doukhobors,  Faits  historiques  reunis.  Paris,  1902.] 

Verigin,  one  of  the  "  Fasting  "  Doukhobors,  was  regarded 
by  some  of  this  sect  as  Christ,  the  Saviour,  the  "  Door  to  the 
Kingdom  of  Heaven  " ;  by  some  as  a  God-man  or  earthly 
Deity;  by  some  as  a  Prophet;  while  others  considered  him 
no  more  than  an  ordinary  man.  A  document  dated  July  £8, 
1901,  declares: 

"  '  Great  is  the  Lord  above  all  the  nations,  for  his  good- 
ness and  mercy  endureth  for  ever.'  And  His  goodness  is 
that  He  has  been  born  by  the  Spirit  of  the  Most-Holy  Vir- 
gin Mother  of  God  the  Queen  of  Heaven,  one  of  the  blessed 
race  of  Loukeriya  Verigin.  This  Lord  is  our  Leader, 
Peter  Vasilyevitch  Verigin.  His  beauty  is  in  his  Wisdom; 
in  flesh  he  is  pure. 

"  We  strive  towards  him,  esteem  him  God  and  Tsar,  and 
with  full  desire  yield  ourselves  to  his  power." 

It  has  been  suggested,  with  plausibility,  that  he  was  the 
Messiah  whom  the  Canadian  Pilgrims  expected  to  meet  in 
Winnipeg.  His  mother  they  hold  in  the  greatest  reverence, 
even  as  is  befitting  the  mother  of  God.  On  this  pilgrimage 
from  northwest  Canada  to  Winnipeg  they  had  a  leader  who 
posed  as  a  John  the  Baptist.  Said  an  observer:  "  In  front 
stalks  the  new  *  John  the  Baptist,'  his  jet-black  beard  and 
long  hair  floating  in  the  autumn  wind.  Suddenly  he  will 
stop,  with  eyes  glaring  before  him,  then  leap  forward,  clutch- 
ing at  the  air  with  extended,  groping  hands,  crying,  '  I  see 
Him,  I  see  Jesus.  He  is  coming,  He  is  here.'  The  dementia 
can  be  seen  to  run  through  the  procession  like  a  wave  at  these 
words.  The  chant  rises  higher,  stronger  and  militant,  and 
many  of  the  Spirit-Wrestlers  show  similar  symptoms  of  see- 
ing Him  who  is  invisible.  All  who  have  seen  it  say  it  is  like 
a  dreadful  dream,  that  it  is  incredible,  unrealizable  —  hun- 
dreds of  men,  with  the  light  of  insanity  in  their  eyes,  roam- 
ing whither  and  for  what  they  know  not,  and  animated  by  a 
belief  that  brings  the  dark  ages  into  the  dawn  of  the  twen- 
tieth century. 

"  They  are  eating,  to  supplement  the  gifts  of  bread  made 


172  Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

by  the  villages  en  route,  dried  rosebuds,  herbs,  leaves,  grasses, 
in  fact,  almost  anything  vegetable  in  its  origin.  They  be- 
lieve there  will  be  no  winter  and  no  cold  weather,  that  there 
will  be  two  summers  this  year.  Mr.  Speers  asked  '  John  the 
Baptist,'  who  was  one  of  the  earliest  to  discard  his  rubbers : 
*  Where  are  your  boots  ?  ' 

"  '  Jesus  had  no  boots,'  was  the  answer. 

"  '  But  your  feet  will  get  cold  ?  '  protested  the  kindly 
agent. 

"  '  Jesus  keeps  my  feet  warm,'  replied  the  forerunner. 

"  Many  of  them  walk  the  entire  night,  their  bodies  seem- 
ing insensible  to  fatigue  that  would  kill  many  men.  When 
they  marched  into  Yorktown  they  bore  from  a  dozen  to 
twenty  stretchers,  improvised  of  poplar  poles  and  gray 
blankets,  on  which  they  bore  their  sick  and  feeble  folk.  By 
the  hand  they  led  a  man  past  fifty  years  of  age,  born  blind, 
He  is  now  in  the  Immigration  Hall.  I  saw  him  an  hour  ago, 
his  sightless  eyes  uplifted  in  an  ecstacy  of  beatific  vision." 

Peter  Verigin,  the  leader  of  the  Saskatchewan  Doukho- 
bors,  has  merited  the  title  of  a  remarkable  man.  "  He  has 
altered  the  character  of  the  community,  has  changed  their 
mode  of  agriculture,  gradually  introducing  modern  methods, 
and  has  built  up  an  organization  out  of  chaos.  Several  thou- 
sand acres  have  been  broken,  and  the  area  under  cultivation 
this  year  (1903)  will  be  much  greater  than  that  sown  last 
year.  While  no  doubt  there  are  in  so  large  a  body  a  few 
who  look  with  jealousy  upon  Peter  Verigin,  the  great  bulk 
of  the  Doukhobors  undoubtedly  have  implicit  faith  in  him. 
From  early  morning,  when  the  village  is  roused  by  the  sing- 
ing by  a  chorus  which  patrols  the  street,  until  evening,  when 
the  same  choir  sings  them  to  sleep,  the  villagers  find  their 
work  in  common  very  agreeable  to  them."  [Maude,  227-8, 
235,  237,  254.] 

The  Khlysti  (Flagellants),  or  Men  of  God 

The  Russian  sect  of  the  Khlysti,  or  Flagellants,  follow  a 
man  who  proclaimed  in  1645 :  "  I  am  the  God  announced 
by  the  prophets,  come  down  on  earth  the  second  time  for  the 


The  Messianic  Idea  in  Christianity  173 

salvation  of  the  human  race,  and  there  is  no  God  but  me." 
The  tenet  of  this  sect  is  that  a  succession  of  Christs  has 
followed  the  founder  of  their  order,  elevation  to  this  rank 
being  attained  by  perfect  surrender  to  the  influence  of  the 
Spirit,  who  subdues  the  flesh.  Their  ecstatic  methods  of 
worship  result  in  much  prophecying,  but  they  are  forbidden 
to  commit  these  to  writing,  and,  consequently  have  developed 
no  dogma.  [Enthusiasts  (Religious),  E.R.E.,  V,  31 9.] 

According  to  the  tradition  of  the  Khlysti,  there  descended 
in  the  days  of  Czar  Alexis,  in  the  year  1645,  upon  Mount 
Gorodin,  in  the  district  of  Vladimir,  in  great  power,  on  a 
wagon  of  fire  surrounded  by  a  cloud,  "  God  the  Father,  ac- 
companied \>y  the  hosts  of  heaven."  The  wagon  returned  to 
heaven  but  the  Lord  himself  remained  on  earth  and  became 
manifest  in  the  person  of  Daniel  Philoppitch  (spelled  also, 
Philippon,  Philipovitch,  or  Danelo  Filopovitch).  Among 
the  twelve  commandments  given  out  by  this  "  God  the 
Father  "  the  first  declared :  "  I  am  the  God  of  whom  the 
prophets  spoke.  I  came  for  the  second  time  into  the  world 
(the  first  coming  being  at  Jerusalem)  to  redeem  the  souls 
of  men.  There  is  no  God  besides  me."  [H.  W.  Williams, 
Russia  of  the  Russians,  165  ff.  New  York,  1914.  Khlysti, 
in  New  Inter.  Ency.,  Vol.  13,  p.  208.] 

Danelo  Filopovitch  proclaimed  himself  God  and  delegated 
Ivan  Souslof  to  be  Christ,  his  son.  He  lived  with  a  woman 
whom  he  called  the  Mother-of-God,  or  the  Daughter-of-God. 
From  among  his  adherents  he  chose  twelve  apostles.  He 
collected  his  followers  in  a  decrepit  and  empty  church  in  the 
village  of  Rabotniki,  on  the  Volga,  and  was  there  worshipped 
by  them.  Souslof,  after  handing  on  his  authority  to  Loup- 
kin,  died  in  Moscow  in  1716.  Loupkin  acknowledged  his  wife 
to  be  a  Mother-of-God.  With  the  assistance  of  twenty 
apostles  he  taught  in  Nizhni-Novgorod,  Vladimir,  and  Yaro- 
slaf.  The  government  tried  hard  to  put  down  the  move- 
ment. Docifius,  Bishop  of  Rostof,  one  of  the  converts,  after 
being  deprived  of  his  bishopric,  was  tortured  and  executed 
in  the  presence  of  Peter  the  Great,  by  having  his  stomach 
torn  to  pieces  with  pincers  in  the  Red  Place  in  Moscow. 

[Many  of  the  Khlists,  or  Hlists,  are  Finns.     They  have 


174  Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

adopted  many  of  the  old  communistic  practices.  A.  Maude, 
op.  cit.,  99-103.  Stepniak,  The  Russian  Peasantry,  268-9. 
New  York,  1888.] 

The  first  accounts  of  this  order  were  written  in  the  latter 
part  of  the  seventeenth  century.  In  a  trial  held  at  Moscow 
between  1733-9  Prpkofi  Lupkin,  a  soldier  of  the  body-guard 
appears  as  "  Christ,"  his  wife  and  several  nuns,  as  "  Moth- 
ers of  God."  Moscow  was  the  center  of  operations  of  the 
Christs  Serge  Osipov,  Vasali  Stepanov,  and  more  famous 
than  these,  Andreyan  Petrov,  who,  known  as  the  "  Happy 
Idiot,"  had  the  entree  to  the  houses  of  the  aristocracy,  and 
carries  on  his  propaganda  there  for  the  sect,  not  entirely 
without  success.  Other  communities,  also,  possessed 
"  Christs  "  and  "  Mothers-of-God "  at  an  early  date. 
"  Lupkin  and  Petrov  belong  to  the  seven  '  Christs  '  named  by 
the  legend  which  describes  the  origin  of  the  Men  of  God. 
Since  the  reports  of  the  trial  prove  the  correctness  of  the 
assertions  of  their  tradition  regarding  the  seven  '  Christs  ' 
and  the  '  Mothers-of-God,'  Akulina  and  Nastasya,  the  tradi- 
tion may  be  trusted  as  to  what  it  relates  concerning  the 
earlier  '  Christs,'  Danila  Philipov  and  Ivan  Suslov.  Of 
these  the  first  is  said  to  have  also  ranked  as  '  God  Zebaoth,' 
and  to  have  founded  the  sect  about  the  middle  of  the  seven- 
teenth century  in  the  government  district  of  Kostroma,  while 
the  second,  as  his  disciple  spread  it  in  the  Oka  and  Volga  dis- 
tricts and  introduced  it  into  Moscow.  Ancient  songs  of  the 
Khlysti  speak  of  one  6  Christ,'  Averyan,  who  lived  in  the 
fourteenth  century,  and  of  another,  Yemelyan,  who  labored 
in  Moscow  in  the  time  of  Ivan  the  Terrible.  The  majority 
of  Russian  Scholars  consider  the  sect  much  older  than  his- 
torical information  reaches."  [Men  of  God,  Hastings' 
E.R.E.,  VIII,  544-6.] 

The  pretensions  of  the  founder  of  the  Khlysti  sect  were 
supported  by  the  tradition  that  his  commandments  were 
issued  by  a  son  born  to  him  fifteen  years  before  his  appear- 
ance in  the  world,  of  a  woman  one  hundred  years  old.  This 
son,  Ivan  Timofejen,  ascended  with  Daniel,  his  father,  into 
the  heavens.  Here  they  tarried  a  while ;  then  descended 
Jesus  the  Christ,  in  the  person  of  Ivan,  who  at  once  com- 


The  Messianic  Idea  in  Christianity  175 

menced  to  preach,  assisted  by  his  twelve  disciples,  the  twelve 
commandments  given  by  his  father.  He  entered  into  holy 
matrimony  with  a  maiden  known  as  the  Mother  of  God. 
After  crucifixion  and  burial  on  a  Friday,  Ivan  rose  from  the 
dead  the  following  Sunday  and  appeared  among  his  follow- 
ers. Again  he  was  seized  by  the  authorities,  tried,  and  cruci- 
fied a  second  time,  this  time  his  skin  being  removed.  One  of 
his  female  followers  then  wrapped  the  body  in  a  sheet,  out 
of  which  a  new  skin  formed.  He  again  resurrected  and  went 
about  preaching,  later  taking  up  his  residence  in  Moscow, 
in  the  house  later  known  as  the  New  Jerusalem.  [Cyclo- 
pedia of  Bibl.,  Theol.,  and  Eccl.  Literature,  V,  71.] 

The  Khlysti  repudiate  this  title,  which  is  given  them  by 
the  outside  world,  and  call  themselves  Lyudi  bozhii,  meaning, 
"  Men  of  God."  They  believe  that  God  is  to  be  found  only 
among  themselves,  ordinary  Christian  church  goers  being, 
in  their  view,  mere  worldlings.  Formerly  they  called  them- 
selves "  Christu,"  those  who  have  Christ  in  their  midst,  that  is, 
in  their  leaders.  Among  them  are  many  Christs.  They 
draw  down  the  spirit  by  dances,  by  songs,  and  by  fasts,  but 
principally  by  dancing.  One  who  succeeds  in  receiving  the 
spirit  in  full  becomes  a  Christ,  or  even  a  God  of  the  highest 
rank,  that  is,  a  Christ  of  the  highest  rank,  or,  a  Mother-of- 
God.  Those  who  receive  the  Spirit  in  a  less  degree  are  in- 
vested with  the  title  of  one  of  the  apostles,  or  of  one  of  the 
ecclesiastical  saints,  and  honored  as  prophets  or  prophet- 
esses. For,  say  they,  even  Jesus  of  Nazareth  became  a 
Christ  only  after  receiving  the  spirit  as  the  sequel  to  bap- 
tism. These  individuals  have  received  the  spirit  as  a  per- 
manent possession,  but,  by  the  same  means,  others  may  re- 
ceive it  as  a  temporary  possession. 

It  must  be  confessed,  however,  that  these  Christs  are 
seldom  actuated  by  a  messianic  ideal.  The  holy  spirit  is 
regarded  as  a  power  which  shuns  observation,  revealing  him- 
self in  secret,  and  being  averse  to  publicity.  Consequently, 
if  a  man  talks  about  the  Spirit  he  loses  it.  Yet,  sometimes 
the  Christs,  Mothers-of-God,  prophets,  and  prophetesses  es- 
pecially, and  also  ordinary  members  of  the  community,  when 
in  the  ecstatic  state,  break  into  improvised  doggerel,  and 


176  Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

prophesy  the  "  common  fate  "  of  individual  members  of  their 
sect  and  the  "  private  fate  "  of  individuals  not  members. 
Always  the  Spirit  operates  unfettered  and  chooses  for  Him- 
self whatsoever  form  he  cares  to  create.  During  the  summer 
solstice  they  dance  around  a  tub  of  water  over  which  they 
see  the  "  golden  Christ  "  appearing  in  the  steam  that  rises 
above  the  vessel. 

About  1770  arose  the  Skoptsi,  or  Castrators,  as  a  reac- 
tion to  the  Flagellants.  It  was  founded  by  a  man  who  de- 
clared himself  God  incarnate.  They  look  ardently  for  the 
millennium.  Christ  will  return  when  their  numbers  reach 
144,000.  Those  who  wish  to  enter  the  order  must  submit 
to  castration. 

There  are  Messiahs  of  every  type.  Not  all  of  them  are 
blatant  in  their  claims,  not  all  of  them  arise  in  a  society  that 
is  hard-pressed  and  despondently  hopeful,  nor  do  they  all 
seem  disposed  to  press  their  claims.  To  illustrate  this  let 
me  quote  the  description  of  a  Messiah  of  the  Pacific  Coast 
given  by  Miss  Janet  May  Bingham. 

"  About  1910  or  1911,  a  man  living  in  Seattle,  Washing- 
ton, claimed  to  be  the  reincarnation  of  Christ.  He  was  tall 
and  fair  with  long  curly  hair,  and  did  look  astonishingly  like 
pictures  of  Christ.  As  far  as  I  know  he  made  no  particular 
attempt  to  preach  a  gospel  or  enforce  recognition  —  he  said 
he  was  Christ  and  let  it  go  at  that.  He  wandered  around  on 
crutches.  He  seemed  to  be  a  little  lame.  He  had  the  ap- 
pearance of  a  man  just  recovered  from  a  severe  illness  and 
seemed  very  frail.  When  he  met  a  little  child  he  would  stop, 
place  his  hand  on  its  head  and  speak  to  it.  All  the  children 
appeared  to  like  him  though  they  appeared  to  be  somewhat 
abashed  in  his  presence.  He  paid  no  particular  attention 
to  older  children  or  to  grown-ups.  I  do  not  think  he  was 
insane.  He  seemed  honestly  to  believe  he  was  Christ,  and 
to  try  to  live  and  act  accordingly.  I  rather  admired  him  — 
not  that  I  ever  so  much  as  spoke  to  him  —  but  he  had  a  most 
beautifully  serene  expression  that  was  irresistible." 

Similar  reincarnations  strolled  the  streets  of  Berkeley, 
California,  in  the  years  1915  and  1916,  some  as  isolated 


The  Messianic  Idea  in  Christianity  177 

individuals,  without  subscribers  to  their  claims,  others  with 
a  fluctuating  body  of  followers  and  admirers.  [Another 
Messiah  flourished  in  San  Diego,  California,  about  1908.  I 
have  not  been  able  to  learn  details  about  him.] 

None  of  these  seem  to  be  the  product  of  any  peculiar 
social  conditions  —  they  seem  rather  an  epiphenomenon,  a 
flitting  light  rather  than  a  torch,  a  vagary  whose  existence 
cannot  be  accounted  for,  or  justified,  by  any  plausible  rea- 
soning. "  Sports  "  are  not  confined  to  the  biological  realm, 
but  flourish  equally  well  in  the  social,  the  psychic,  and  the 
religious.  Such  was  the  "  Leatherwood  God,"  a  messiah  who 
played  an  important  role  in  the  frontier  portions  of  the 
state  of  Ohio  in  the  fifties,  first  claiming  miraculous  powers, 
later  claiming  to  be  God  Himself,  and,  to  their  woeful  un- 
doing, leading  many  of  this  pioneer  community  across  the 
Alleghanies  to  the  Promised  Land  —  that  is  to  Philadelphia, 
—where  they  were  to  be  transported  to  eternal  bliss. 

[He  met  his  fate  by  drowning  in  the  river  there  —  whether 
accidentally  or  deliberately  is  not  known.  A  literary  de- 
scription, which  elaborates  but  does  not  otherwise  depart 
from  the  facts,  is  given  by  William  Dean  Howells,  The 
Leatherwood  God.~\ 

The  closest  analogue  in  America  to  this  Leatherwood 
God  was  probably  John  Alexander  Dowie,  who  regarded 
himself  as  Elijah  the  Restorer,  foretold  by  Malachi,  by  St. 
Peter,  and  by  Christ  himself  —  such  were  his  pretensions. 
The  next  step,  says  his  apologist,  would  have  been  to  declare 
himself  a  reincarnation  of  the  Messiah,  the  Son  of  God, 
which  many  who  watched  his  development  believed  would 
have  been  the  next  step  had  not  unforeseen  sectarian  troubles 
interrupted  his  career.  He  had  established  at  Zion,  near 
Chicago,  a  settlement  for  his  followers  and  over  it  he  was  for 
some  time  undisputed  dictator.  His  adherents  numbered 
over  twenty  thousand,  though  eventually  they  broke  away 
from  his  influence  and  even  ousted  him  from  the  community 
on  charges  of  immoral  practices.  [For  details  see  Rolvix 
Harlan,  John  Alexander  Dowie  and  the  Christian  Catholic 
Apostolic  Church  in  Zion.  Evansville,  Wis.,  1906.  A  disser- 
tation at  the  University  of  Chicago.  Dowie,  Analyzed  and 


178  Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

Classified,  Century  Magazine,  Vol.  64,  (Oct.,  1902),  928-44.] 

The  Book  of  Oahspe,  published  by  an  American  dentist, 
a  spiritualist,  about  1881,  refers  to  Christ  as  a  false  God, 
Loveamong,  who  brought  on  war  and  later  changed  his  name, 
falsely  calling  himself  Christ.  He  raised  up  tribes  of  mortal 
warriors,  who  call  themselves  Christians,  and  remain  war- 
riors to  this  day.  [Oahspe,  in  Hastings'  E.R.E.,  IX,  428.] 

At  a  convention  of  his  denomination  in  1893,  the  Reverend 
Frank  W.  Sanford,  a  Free  Baptist  minister,  announced  that 
he  had  received  Divine  revelations  commanding  him  to  preach 
to  the  whole  world  before  the  "  coming  of  the  end."  At 
Shiloh,  Maine,  he  founded  the  Holy  Ghost  and  Us  Society. 
The  views  of  this  order  are  pronouncedly  chiliastic, —  and 
Sanford  himself  is  Elijah.  He  conducted  a  disastrous  voy- 
age to  Africa,  during  which  a  number  of  his  followers  died 
from  insufficient  food  and  care,  and  was  in  consequence  con- 
victed, on  December  9,  1911,  of  causing  the  death  of  six 
persons.  He  was  sent  to  a  government  prison. 

In  the  latter  part  of  1896  William  S.  Crowdy  founded 
the  Church  of  God  and  Saints  of  Christ.  Crowdy  had  been 
a  railway  cook  until  he  received  aj»evelation  as  "  a  prophet 
of  God  sent  to  the  whole  world*^  Crowdy  is  believed  by  his 
followers  to  be  in  direct  corfimunication  with  the  Deity,  to 
utter  prophecies  by  the  w#f  of  God,  and  to  perform  miracles. 
On  his  death  the  prohetic  officV  lapses  until  a  new  vision 
appears.  [Hast 

About  1830  theire  appea/redin  an  indefinite  region  de- 
scribed as  "  a  starce  bordering/on  Kentucky,"  an  impostor 
who  claimed  to  Jfte  the  S^m  of /God,  the  Savior  of  mankind, 
who  had  appea/ed  on  earth  t*  call  the  impious  and  sinners 
to  their  duty. /He  declared  tftat  if  his  hearers  did  not  mend 
their  ways  ly  wp^afa  cause  ihe  earth  to  crumble  beneath 
them.  Many  people,  including  persons  of  wealth  and  posi- 
tion, received  the  message  wth  attention  and  respect.  At 
last  a  German  humbly  besought  the  Messiah  to  explain  his 
message  in  German,  since  nmny  of  the  man's  auditors  did 
not  understand  English,  and  it  was  a  shame  that  salvation 
should  be  denied  them  merely  because  of  a  weakness  in 
linguistic  ability.  The  Messiah,  in  reply,  confessed  that  he 


The  Messianic  Idea-  in  Christianity  179 

did  not  know  German.  "  What,"  came  the  retort  from  the 
German,  "  you  the  Son  of  God  and  don't  speak  all  languages, 
and  don't  even  know  German?  Come,  come,  you  are  a 
knave,  a  hypocrite,  and  a  madman.  Bedlam  is  the  place  for 
you."  This  brought  a  laugh  from  the  spectators,  who  then 
withdrew  ashamed  of  their  credulity.  [J.  G.  Frazer,  The 
Magic  Art,  I,  409.] 

National  Saviors 

It  has  been  said  with  much  truth  that  when  disaster  is 
most  heavy  the  hope  of  deliverance  is  most  lively ;  but  when 
prosperity  smiles  it  is  forgotten.  Suffering  often  breeds  a 
cheerful  countenance  while  satisfaction  makes  a  wry  face. 
In  a  more  vituperative  spirit  the  evil  of  the  times  was  not 
infrequently  liberally  wished  on  the  evil  doers.  [Baring- 
Gould,  Origin,  and  Development  of  Religious  Belief,  I,  77-8. 
London,  1892.]  The  ideas  in  Western  Europe  which  have, 
in  its  earlier  history,  fostered  this  faith  are,  in  large  part, 
common  knowledge:  the  hope  for  deliverance  from  oppres- 
sion, the  gleam  of  a  beckoning  future  whose  content  is  either 
in  the  golden  age  of  the  past  or  in  some  long  awaited  age  to 
come.  The  substance  and  meaning  of  these  ideas  has  never 
been  better  expressed  than  by  Baring-Gould,  whose  descrip- 
tion of  them  we  quote : 

"  A  nation  that  suffers  clings  to  the  traditions  of  the  past, 
and  hopes  for  the  future.  The  present  is  to  it  one  of  the 
bitterest  sorrow  and  degradation;  but  it  had  a  glorious 
past  —  at  least  it  chooses  to  think  so  —  and  before  it  is  a 
glorious  future,  which  it  is  determined  to  look  forward  to. 
The  Esthonian  from  the  time  of  the  German  invasion  liv 
a  life  of  bondage  under  a  foreign  yoke,  and  the  iron  of 
slavery  entered  into  his  soul.  He  sang:  — 

In  the  bosom  of  the  forest 
Where  the  bushes  fling  their  shadows, 
Where  the  alder  boughs  are  dripping, 
Where  the  birches  sadly  waver, 
There  of  mossy  cairns  are  seven, 
Not  adorned  by  loving  fingers, 


180  Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

Nor  by  watchful  eyes  attended. 

One  contains  our  tears  of  anguish, 

One  contains  our  chains  of  bondage  , 

One  is  o'er  our  smitten  heroes, 

In  the  fourth  wails  gnawing  famine, 

In  the  fifth  humiliations, 

In  the  sixth  the  plague  is  lurking, 

In  the  seventh  utter  ruin. 

And  he  told  how  the  ancient  hero  Kalewipoeg  sits  in  the 
realms  of  shadows  with  his  fist  in  the  rock  waiting  till  his 
country  is  in  its  extremity  of  distress,  when  he  will  draw  his 
hand  out  of  the  living  stone,  and  return  to  earth  to  avenge 
the  injuries  of  the  Esths,  and  elevate  the  poor  crushed  people 
into  a  mighty  power. 

"  The  suffering  Kelt  has  his  Brian  Boroimhe,  or  Arthur, 
who  will  come  again,  the  first  to  inaugurate  a  Fenian  Mil- 
lennium, the  second  to  regenerate  Wales.  Olger  Dansk,  iron 
mace  in  hand,  waits  till  the  time  arrives  when  he  is  to  start 
from  his  sleep  to  the  assistance  of  the  Dane  against  the 
hated  Prussian.  The  Messiah  is  to  come,  and  restore  the 
kingdom  to  the  Jew.  Charlemagne  was  the  Messiah  of 
Mediaeval  Teutondom.  He  it  was  who  founded  the  great 
German  empire,  and  shed  over  it  the  blaze  of  Christian  truth 
and  now  he  sleeps  in  the  Kyffhauserberg,  seated  at  a  stone 
table,  waiting  till  German  heresy  has  reached  its  climax  and 
Germany  is  wasted  through  internal  conflicts,  to  rush  to 
earth  once  more  and  revive  the  great  empire  and  restore  the 
Catholic  faith.  The  expectation  of  a  Messiah,  and  of  a 
golden  age,  is  the  child  of  hope,  and  hope  is  the  child  of 
oppression.  The  most  down-trodden  peoples  are  those  which 
believe  most  intensely  in  a  future  age  of  triumph.  What  a 
Savior  is  to  a  weary  soul,  and  Heaven  is  to  a  forlorn  spirit 
that  a  Messiah  and  a  future  golden  age  are  to  an  oppressed 
and  suffering  people. 

"  Greece  and  Rome  had  neither.  Why  ?  Because  Greece 
and  Rome  were  not  under  bondage.  If  they  fabled  of  a 
golden  age,  that  age  was  past;  but  there  was  none  in  the 
future.  Ovid  sings  of  the  change  of  the  ages  from  gold  to 
silver,  from  silver  to  brass,  and  from  brass  to  iron ;  but  he 


The  Messianic  Idea  in  Christianity  181 

holds  out  no  hope  of  a  future  renovation.  Horace,  with 
cruel  acrimony,  generalizes  the  same  idea,  and  makes  of  de- 
generation a  law :  '  The  age  of  our  fathers,  worse  than  that 
of  our  grandfathers,  gave  birth  to  us,  and  we,  still  further 
depraved,  shall  give  birth  to  a  race  inferior  to  our  own.' 
Tibullus  joins  his  voice  to  the  concert  of  malediction  against 
the  present  age,  and  regrets  the  happy  age  when  barbarism 
reigned  supreme.  The  most  eminent  philosophers  bowed  to 
the  traditions  of  the  past."  [Baring-Gould,  Origin  and  De- 
velopment of  Religious  Belief,  I,  414-6,  Ch.  on  The  Human 
Ideals.] 

Not  until  the  time  of  Lucretius,  who  lived  in  the  days  of 
Rome's  waning  glory  do  we  have  a  refutation  of  this  doctrine 
of  the  golden  age  and  an  insistence  that  the  civilization  of  his 
day  had  come  to  its  own  but  slowly  and  by  building  upon  a 
cruder  past  —  in  a  word,  by  gradual  evolution.  [A  view 
well  expressed  in  Lucretius'  De  Rerum  Natura.]  If  the 
messianic  idea  is  anywhere  expressed  by  Latin  writers  it  is 
in  Virgil,  a  poet  of  this  age.  [In  his  so-called  Messianic 
Eclogue.] 

The  partition  of  Poland  elicited  many  messianic  ideals 
and  politico-messianic  movements  among  the  Poles,  who  pic- 
tured the  coming  salvation  as  threefold:  social,  political  and 
religious.  All  of  them  portray  a  time  when  the  downtrodden 
nations,  and  especially  Poland,  will  be  free  from  the  ag- 
gressor. 

[Lutoslawski,  Le  Messianisme  Polonais.  Published  in  Atti 
del  in  Congresso  Internationale  di  Filosofia.  Bologna,  1911, 
p.  186-92.  Poland  offers  a  favorable  soil.  Georg  Brandes, 
Poland:  A  Study  of  the  Land,  People,  and  Literature,  239  ff. 
New  York,  1904.  Monica  Gardner,  Poland:  A  Study  in  Na- 
tional Idealism.  New  York.  No  date.] 

Many  a  national  hero  is  but  biding  the  day  when  the 
oppressor  is  driven  forth  from  the  land  and  he  may  return 
in  power.  Every  Greek  of  the  Orthodox  Church  knows  that 
the  priest  of  Hagia  Sophia,  or  Saint  Sophia,  bides  the  day 
when  the  Turk  shall  be  ousted  from  Constantinople  and  na- 
tional ambition  be  fulfilled.  Within  its  walls  he  remains 
sleeping  until  that  happy  consummation  is  realized.  Simi- 


182  Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

larly,  Boabdil,  the  last  of  the  Moorish  kings  of  Spain,  lies 
spell-bound  within  the  Alhambra  in  a  slumber  unbroken  until 
the  eve  of  St.  John  —  a  story  familiar  to  lovers  of  Washing- 
ton Irving.  {The  Alhambra.'} 

"  I  will  unto  the  veil  of  Avalon,  to  heal  me  of  grievous 
wound,"  were  Arthur's  words,  neither  he  nor  his  followers 
believing  that  he  was  dying.  Fitting  is  the  epitaph:  Hie 
JACET  ARTHURUS,  REX  QUONDAM  REXQUE  FUTURUS,  for  he 
but  sleeps  in  Avalon,  waiting  for  the  time  when  he  shall  wake 
to  free  Britain  once  more.  [Geo.  W.  Cox,  The  Mythol- 
ogy of  the  Aryan  Nations,  225-6, 139.  London,  1903.  John 
Fiske,  Myths  and  Myth-Makers;  Old  Tales  and  Superstitions 
Interpreted  by  Comparative  Mythology,  26,  201-2.  New 
York,  1893.  S.  Baring-Gould,  Curious  Myths  of  the  Mid- 
dle Ages,  92-110.  Boston,  1889.  Thomas  Bulfinch,  King 
Arthur  and  His  Knights,  Ch.  23,  Morte  D' Arthur.] 

In  Switzerland,  by  the  Vierwaldstattersee,  three  Tells  are 
awaiting  the  hour  when  their  country  shall  again  need 
to  be  delivered  from  the  oppressor.  Charlemagne,  says  an- 
other tradition,  is  reposing  in  the  Untersberg,  sword  in  hand, 
waiting  for  the  coming  of  Anti-Christ.  In  a  lofty  mountain 
in  Thuringia  the  great  Emperor  Frederick  Barbarossa  slum- 
bers, his  knights  around  him,  until  the  time  comes  for  him 
to  sally  forth  and  raise  Germany  to  the  first  rank  among  the 
nations  of  the  world.  It  would  be  interesting  to  know 
whether  recent  events  in  that  war-stricken  land  have  revived 
this  faith  among  the  peasantry.  Do  they  think  he  has  now 
slept  until  his  beard  has  grown  thrice  around  the  marble 
table  on  which  he  leans  —  the  sign  that  the  time  of  reawak- 
ening is  at  hand  —  or  that  the  ravens  circling  about  the 
Kyffhauserberg  proclaim  the  time  not  yet  at  hand?  [Yes, 
says  a  writer  in  the  Sunday  edition  of  the  San  Francisco 
Exammer,  Feb.,  1917.] 

According  to  another  version  Barbarossa  is  lying  in  the 
Untersberg  near  Salzburg.  When  the  dead  pear-tree  which, 
thrice  cut  down,  plants  itself  afresh,  shall  bud  forth  and 
blossom,  the  gallant  Rothbart  will  come  out  into  the  broad 
daylight,  hang  his  shield  on  the  bright  flowered  bough,  throw 
down  his  gauntlet  as  a  gage  to  evil-doers  and,  aided  by  the 


The  Messianic  Idea  in  Christianity  183 

good  and  chivalrous  few  who  will  still  be  inhabitants  of  this 
bad  world,  will  vanquish  cruelty  and  wickedness,  and  realize 
the  dream  of  a  golden  age  which  they  have  so  long  antici- 
pated. [The  story  has  been  given  popular  expression  by 
Margarethe  Miiller,  Gluck  Auf,  91-6.  New  York,  1901.  P. 
V.  Bacon,  German  Composition,  64.  New  York,  1913.  An 
account  of  the  expected  return  of  Frederick  Barbarossa  is 
given  by  Schindler,  op.  cit.,  21.] 

The  French  peasantry  still  expect  the  return  of  Napoleon 
Bonaparte.  Has  that  expectation  been  heightened  during 
these  horrible  years  of  the  European  War  when  France  has 
been  fighting  for  her  very  existence  ? 

In  the  mountains  along  the  Rhone,  opposite  the  village  of 
Beauchastel,  can  be  seen  embodied  in  the  contour  of  the 
granite,  the  features  of  a  face,  to  which  the  name  of  "  the 
lost  Napoleon  "  has  been  given.  [Cf.  Albert  Bigelow  Paine, 
in  Saint  Nicholas,  Jan.,  1918,  Vol.  L,  215-7.]  Even  in  Rus- 
sia his  advent  was  looked  for  and  the  belief  prevailed  that 
Napoleon  had  returned  from  St.  Helena  in  the  person  of 
Tchichikof.  [Stephen  Graham,  Undiscovered  Russia,  47.] 
At  the  present  time  the  sect  known  as  the  "  Worshippers  of 
Napoleon,"  who  revered  him  as  a  Christ,  seems  to  have  died 
out.  [Men  of  God,  Hastings'  E.R.E.,  VIII,  544-6.] 

In  Scotland,  beneath  the  Eilden  hills,  sleeps  Thomas  of 
Erceldome.  The  French  who  were  murdered  in  the  Sicilian 
Vespers  at  Palermo  still  slumber  till  the  time  comes  when 
they  shall  awake  and  avenge  themselves.  Reluctant,  indeed, 
is  human  nature  to  give  up  hope  for  revenge  or  hope  for 
restoration. 

Ogier  the  Dane,  a  contemporary  and  ally  of  Charlemagne, 
took  ship  one  night  from  France  and  was  not  seen  again  for 
a  full  hundred  years.  The  interval  was  spent  on  a  beautiful 
isle  in  the  company  of  a  lovely  fairy,  under  whose  enchant- 
ments the  time  passed  so  quickly  and  happily  that  he  thought 
not  once  of  his  continental  home.  Not  until  the  crown  was 
playfully  snatched  from  his  head  did  memory  return,  and 
with  it  a  desire  to  regain  his  old  home. 

When  he  arrived  in  Paris  he  found  everything  changed; 
Hugh  Capet  and  not  Charlemagne  was  on  the  throne.  He 


184  Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

won  fresh  laurels  in  fighting  the  Moors  and  came  back  to 
Paris  with  great  honors.  After  the  death  of  the  king  he 
was  to  be  wedded  to  the  queen.  On  the  eve  of  this  happy 
consummation  the  jealous  fairy  again  came  to  claim  him  for 
her  own  and  transported  him  to  Avalon.  "  There,"  con- 
cludes the  story,  "  in  company  with  the  great  King  Arthur 
of  Britain,  he  still  lives,  and  when  his  illustrious  friend  shall 
return  to  resume  his  ancient  reign  he  will  doubtless  return 
with  him,  and  share  his  triumph."  [Ogier  the  Dane,  in  Bui- 
finch,  Legends  of  Charlemagne.] 

For  a  long  while  the  belief  was  current  that  01  af  Tryggves- 
son,  or  Olaf  I  (969-1000),  king  of  Norway,  was  still  alive 
and  would  return  to  his  kingdom.  He  had  not  been  drowned 
in  the  sea  fight  but  had  saved  himself  by  diving  under  the 
keels  of  the  enemy  vessels.  Like  Arthur  he  was  still  dream- 
ing away  the  time  in  Avalon  waiting  the  day  of  return. 
"  Much  was  hoped,  supposed,  spoken,  but  the  truth  was,  Olaf 
Tryggvesson  was  never  seen  in  Norseland  more,"  is  the  sad 
plaint  of  an  old  mourning  skald ;  while  the  skald  of  Half  red 
Vandreda  is  even  more  pessimistic,  and  declares : 

"  It  never  was  the  will  of  fate 
That  Olaf  from  such  perilous  strait 
Should  'scape  with  life !  this  truth  may  grieve  — 
What  people  wish  they  soon  believe." 

[Thomas  Carlyle,  The  Early  Kmgs  of  Norway.  Olaf,  Ency. 
Britt.,  XX,  62.  Anglo-Saxon  Classics,  VII,  248.  New  York, 
1907.  Another  version  is  to  the  effect  that  Olaf  made  a 
pilgrimage  to  Rome  and  lived  long  as  a  hermit  in  the  Holy 
Land.  H.  H.  Boyeses,  Norway,  171.  New  York,  1904.] 

Balder,  one  of  the  sons  of  Woden,  was  to  return  to  deliver 
mankind  from  sorrow  and  death.  He  was  to  return  amid 
prodigies  and  the  crash  and  decay  of  a  wicked  world,  in 
glory  and  joy  and  a  glorious  kingdom  would  be  renewed. 

In  Norse  belief  darkness  heralds  the  dawn,  destruction 
paves  the  way  for  reconstruction.  Ragnarok  is  the  Norse 
word  that  describes  both  phases  of  the  crisis.  "  The  grow- 
ing depravity  and  strife  in  the  world  proclaim  the  approach 
of  this  great  event.  First  there  is  a  winter  called  Fimbul- 


The  Messianic  Idea  in  Christianity  185 

winter,  during  which  snow  will  fall  from  the  four  corners  of 
the  world,  the  frosts  will  be  very  severe,  the  winds  piercing, 
the  weather  tempestuous,  and  the  sun  will  impart  no  glad- 
ness. Three  such  winters  will  pass  away  without  being  tem- 
pered by  a  single  summer." 

War  and  destruction  will  spread  over  the  whole  earth: 

Brothers  slay  brothers; 
Sisters  children 
Shed  each  other's  blood. 
Hard  is  the  world ; 

Sensual  sin  grows  huge.  . 
There  are  sword-ages,  ax-ages; 
Shields  are  cleft  in  twain; 
Storm-ages,  murder-ages ; 
Till  the  world  fall  dead, 
And  men  no  longer  spare 
Or  pity  one  another. 

[Bulfinch,  Stories  of  Gods  and  Heroes.  Anglo-Saxon  Clas- 
sics, V,  722-3;  XI,  323-9.  New  York,  1911.  R.  B.  Ander- 
son, Norse  Mythology.,  413-27.  Chicago,  1891.  The  verse 
is  from  the  Elder  Edda.  A.  and  E.  Keary,  The  Heroes  of 
Asgard:  Tales  from  Scandinavian  Mythology,  Ch.  IX.  New 
York,  1893.  The  idea  is  probably  native  to  Scandinavia 
and,  in  spite  of  the  close  parallel,  not  borrowed  from  Chris- 
tianity.] 

Roderic,  or  Don  Rodrigo  as  he  was  known  to  the  Span- 
iards, the  last  Gothic  king  of  Spain,  his  countrymen  refused 
to  believe  dead.  To  lend  strength  to  their  belief  the  manner 
of  his  death  had  been  enveloped  in  mystery.  After  the  last 
fatal  fight  with  the  Moors  his  sandals  and  his  horse  were 
found  along  the  river  bank,  but  his  body,  probably  carried 
out  to  sea,  was  never  found.  The  Goths  of  Spain,  refusing 
to  believe  him  dead,  declared  he  would  come  from  his  resting 
place  in  some  ocean  isle,  healed  of  his  wounds,  once  more  to 
lead  the  Christians  against  the  infidels.  In  Spanish  legend 
he  is  represented  as  spending  the  rest  of  his  life  in  pious  acts 
of  penance,  meanwhile  being  slowly  devoured  by  snakes  in 
punishment  for  the  sins  he  had  committed.  At  last  the  crime 


186  Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

was  expiated  and  Don  Rodrigo  was  permitted  to  go  to  the 
peaceful  isle,  whence  his  countrymen  long  awaited  his  tri- 
umphant return.  [Stanley  Lane-Poole,  The  Story  of  the 
Moors  in  Spain,  21-2.  New  York,  1898.  H.  E.  Watts,  The 
Christian  Recovery  of  Spain,  19.  New  York,  1894.] 

The  story  has  been  best  told  by  Washington  Irving  in 
his  Legends  of  the  Conquest  of  Spain  (chapter  XVIII)  : 

"  A  mystery  has  ever  hung,  and  must  ever  continue  to 
hang,  over  the  fate  of  King  Roderic,  in  that  dark  and  doleful 
day  of  Spain.  Whether  he  went  down  in  the  storm  of  battle, 
and  atoned  for  his  sins  and  errors  by  a  patriot  grave,  or 
whether  he  survived  to  repent  of  them  in  hermit  exile,  must 
remain  matter  of  conjecture  and  dispute.  The  learned  Arch- 
bishop Rodrigo,  who  has  recorded  the  events  of  this  dis- 
astrous field,  affirms  that  Roderick  fell  beneath  the  vengeful 
blade  of  the  traitor  Julian,  and  thus  expiated  with  his  blood 
his  crime  against  the  hapless  Florinda,  but  the  archbishop 
stands  alone  in  his  record  of  the  fact.  It  seems  generally 
admitted  that  Orelia,  the  favorite  war-horse,  was  found  en- 
tangled in  a  marsh  on  the  borders  of  the  Gaudalete,  with  the 
sandals  and  mantle  and  royal  insignia  of  the  king  lying  close 
by  him.  The  river  at  this  place  ran  broad  and  deep,  and 
was  encumbered  with  the  dead  bodies  of  warriors  and  steeds ; 
it  has  been  supposed,  therefore,  that  he  perished  in  the 
stream ;  but  his  body  was  not  found  within  its  waters. 

"  When  several  years  had  passed  away,  and  men's  minds, 
being  restored  to  some  degree  of  tranquillity,  began  to  oc- 
cupy themselves  about  the  events  of  this  dismal  day,  a  rumor 
arose  that  Roderic  had  escaped  from  the  carnage  on  the 
banks  of  the  Guadalete,  and  was  still  alive.  It  was  said, 
that  having  from  a  rising  ground  caught  a  view  of  the  whole 
field  of  battle,  and  seen  that  the  day  was  lost,  and  his  army 
flying  in  all  directions,  he  likewise  sought  his  safety  in  flight. 
It  is  added,  that  the  Arab  horsemen,  while  scouring  the 
mountains  in  quest  of  fugitives,  found  a  shepherd  arrayed 
in  royal  robes  and  brought  him  before  the  conqueror,  be- 
lieving him  to  be  the  king  himself.  Count  Julian  soon  dis- 
pelled the  error.  On  being  questioned,  the  trembling  rustic 
declared  that  while  tending  the  sheep  in  the  folds  of  the 


The  Messianic  Idea,  in  Christianity  187 

mountains,  there  came  a  cavalier  on  a  horse  wearied  and 
spent  and  ready  to  sink  beneath  the  spur.  That  the  cavalier 
with  an  authoritative  voice  and  menacing  air  commanded 
him  to  exchange  garments  with  him,  and  clad  himself  in  his 
rude  garb  of  sheep-skin,  and  took  his  crook  and  his  rude 
scrip  of  provisions,  and  continued  up  the  rugged  defiles  of 
the  mountains  leading  towards  Castile,  until  he  was  lost  to 
view. 

"  This  tradition  was  fondly  cherished  by  many,  who  clung 
to  the  belief  in  the  existence  of  their  monarch  as  their  main 
hope  for  the  redemption  of  Spain.  It  was  even  affirmed  that 
he  had  taken  refuge,  with  many  of  his  host,  in  an  island  of 
the  '  Ocean  sea,'  from  whence  he  might  yet  return  once  more 
to  elevate  his  standard,  and  battle  for  the  recovery  of  his 
throne. 

"  Year  after  year,  however,  elapsed,  and  nothing  was 
heard  of  Don  Roderick ;  yet,  like  Sebastian  of  Portugal,  and 
Arthur  of  England,  his  name  continued  to  be  a  rallying  point 
for  popular  faith,  and  the  mystery  of  his  end  to  give  rise 
to  romantic  fables." 

In  spite  of  the  fact  that  Don  Sebastian  left  the  Portuguese 
in  worse  plight  than  he  found  them,  his  campaigns  in  Africa, 
disastrous  as  they  were,  raised  hopes  of  great  national  do- 
minion and  made  of  him  an  undying  hero.  Consequently  the 
belief  was  current  that  he  was  not  dead  but  merely  hidden 
and  resting  for  the  day  when  he  should  restore  and  recreate 
Portuguese  prestige.  So  persistent  was  this  belief  and  so 
realistic  the  anticipation  of  his  return  in  the  flesh  that  several 
pretenders  claimed  the  honor  of  being  the  returned  Don  Se- 
bastian. The  most  prominent  of  these  pretenders,  after 
a  career  of  two  years  in  Venice  (1589^-1600),  fell  into  the 
hands  of  the  Spaniards,  and  his  dreams  of  reinvigorating 
the  Portuguese  nation  were  at  an  end.  [See  Sebastian,  in 
New  Inter.  Ency.  (1916),  Vol.  20,  p.  654.  Miguel  Martins 
D'Antas,  Les  faux  Don  Sebastien.  Paris,  18'66.] 

"  The  lower  classes  of  the  Portuguese  people  refused  to 
believe  that  the  young  king  was  dead,  and  it  was  not  long 
before  impostors  arose,  who  tried  ta  make  profit  out  of  this 
credulity.  The  history  of  these  impostors  is  as  curious  in 


188  Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

its  way  as  those  of  the  fi  False  Smerdis,'  the  <  False  De- 
metrius,' and  the  pseudo-Louis  XVII's,  and  proves  how 
strong  a  hold  the  memory  of  Don  Sebastian,  in  spite  of  his 
being  a  rash  and  foolhardy  tyrant,  had  taken  upon  the  minds 
of  the  Portuguese  people.  The  first  two  of  these  impostors, 
who  were  mockingly  called  the  '  King  of  Ericeira  '  and  the 
'  King  of  Pennamacor  '  from  the  headquarters  of  their  oper- 
ations, were  Portuguese  of  low  birth,  whose  risings  were 
easily  put  down.  The  original  inventor  of  the  idea  was  the 
son  of  a  tiler  of  Alcobaca,  named  Sebastiao  Gonzales,  who, 
after  leading  a  profligate  life,  had  retired  to  a  hermitage 
near  Pennamacor.  From  this  retirement  he  emerged  in 
July,  1584,  and  declared  he  was  King  Sebastian ;  that  he  had 
escaped  after  the  battle  of  Alcacer  Quibir,  and  had  since  been 
praying  in  the  hermitage,  but  that  the  miseries  of  his  people 
had  reached  his  ears,  and  he  had  determined  to  come  forth  to 
remedy  them.  He  was  accompanied  by  two  men,  who  styled 
themselves  Dom  Christovao  de  Tavora  and  the  Bishop  of 
Guarda,  and  began  to  collect  money  in  Pennamacor  and  the 
neighborhood.  The  trio  were  speedily  arrested  and  marched 
through  the  streets  of  Lisbon  to  show  that  they  were  im- 
postors ;  and  the  false  Sebastian  was  then  sent  to  the  galleys 
for  life,  and  the  pretended  Bishop  of  Guarda  was  hanged. 
In  the  following  year,  one  Mattheus  Alvares,  son  of  a  mason 
at  Ericeira,  declared  himself  to  be  the  lamented  Dom  Se- 
bastian, to  whom  he  bore  a  considerable  personal  resem- 
blance, and  solemnly  promised  to  marry  the  daughter  of 
Pedro  Alfonso,  a  rich  farmer,  whom  he  created  Count  of 
Torres  Novas.  His  future  father-in-law  advanced  the  im- 
postor a  large  sum  of  money,  and  he  had  raised  a  small  corps 
of  eight  hundred  fanatical  followers,  when  the  cardinal- 
archduke  thought  it  necessary  to  send  royal  troops  against 
him.  The  poor  enthusiasts  were  defeated  with  great  loss, 
and  both  the  pretender  and  Pedro  Affonso  were  hanged  and 
quartered  in  Lisbon. 

"  This  severe  punishment  effectually  checked  the  appear- 
ance of  any  fresh  impostors  in  Portugal  itself,  and  the  popu- 
lace, though  firmly  convinced  that  Dom  Sebastian  would  one 
day  appear  again,  were  not  to  be  deceived  by  any  more  pre- 


The  Messianic  Idea  in  Christianity  189 

tenders. 

"  But  these  stories  had  spread  far  beyond  the  limits  of 
Portugal,  and  two  more  attempts  to  impersonate  the  mon- 
arch were  made  in  Spain  and  Italy.  The  first  of  these  im- 
postors was  a  handsome  young  man  named  Gabriel  Espinosa, 
who  bore  a  striking  resemblance  to  the  King  of  Portugal, 
and  who  was  given  out  as  Dom  Sebastian  by  a  Portuguese 
Jesuit,  named  Madujal,  who  introduced  him  to  Donna  Anna, 
a  natural  daughter  of  Don  John  of  Austria,  and  induced  her 
to  believe  in  him.  The  whole  scheme  partook  rather  of  the 
nature  of  a  personal  intrigue  than  of  a  political  plot. 
Donna  Anna,  who  was  very  wealthy,  showered  favors  on  the 
young  man  and  his  sponsor,  and  even  advocated  his  claims 
to  Philip  II.  The  deception  was,  however,  too  obviously  ab- 
surd to  gain  many  supporters,  and  Espinosa  and  his  clerical 
adviser  were  both  executed  in  1594*.  Far  more  curious  is  the 
story  of  Marco  Tullio,  a  poor  Calabrian  peasant,  who  could 
not  speak  a  word  of  Portuguese,  but  who  nevertheless  as- 
serted that  he  was  Dom  Sebastian  in  1603,  twenty-five  years 
after  the  disaster  of  Alcacer  Quibir.  His  story  was  most 
carefully  worked  out,  and  his  imposture  ranks  among  the 
most  extraordinary  on  record.  He  asserted  that  he  was 
the  king,  and  had  saved  his  life  and  liberty  by  remaining  on 
the  battle-field  among  the  dead  bodies ;  that  he  had  made  his 
way  into  Portugal,  and  had  given  notice  of  his  existence  to 
the  Cardinal-King  Henry,  who  had  sought  his  life;  that  he 
then  returned  to  Africa,  because  he  was  unwilling  to  disturb 
the  peace  of  the  kingdom  by  a  civil  war,  and  travelled  about 
in  the  garb  of  a  penitent;  that  he  next  became  a  hermit  in 
Sicily,  and  was  on  his  way  to  Rome  to  declare  himself  to  the 
Pope,  when  he  was  robbed  by  his  servants,  and  obliged  to 
find  his  way  to  Venice.  When  he  told  this  elaborate  tale 
at  Venice,  he  got  a  few  Portuguese  residents  there  to  believe 
in  him,  and  was  soon  arrested  in  that  city  at  the  demand  of 
the  Spanish  ambassador  as  an  impostor  and  a  criminal.  He 
was  several  times  examined,  but  stuck  to  his  story  so  cleverly, 
and  with  such  obstinacy,  that  the  authorities,  who  were  not 
sorry  to  embarrass  the  Spanish  Government,  refused  to  pun- 
ish him  as  an  impostor.  The  story  of  his  claim  spread  so 


190  Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

widely  abroad,  that  the  enemies  of  Spain  became  anxious  to 
prove  it  true,  and  to  set  him  up  as  a  thorn  in  the  side  of 
Philip  III.  The  Prince  of  Orange  went  so  far  as  to  send 
Dom  Christovao,  son  of  the  Prior  of  Crato,  to  request  the 
Venetian  authorities  to  make  further  inquiries;  but  those 
prudent  governors  only  held  a  solemn  public  examination, 
when  the  Calabrian  told  his  tale  again,  and  then  expelled 
him  from  their  dominions  without  expressing  any  opinion 
as  to  its  truth.  From  Venice  he  went  to  Padua  in  the  dis- 
guise of  a  monk,  and  thence  to  Florence,  where  the  Grand 
Duke  of  Tuscany  had  him  arrested  and  given  up  to  the 
Spanish  Viceroy  at  Naples.  He  was  imprisoned  in  the  Cas- 
tle del  Ovo,  publicly  exposed,  and  sent  to  the  galleys ;  and  as 
he  made  adherents  even  there  he  was  transferred  to  San 
Lucar,  and  eventually  executed.  The  singular  boldness  of 
this  imposture,  and  the  tenacity  with  which  the  ignorant 
Calabrian  stuck  to  his  story,  in  spite  of  its  evident  falsity, 
make  it  memorable  in  the  history  of  pretenders." 

It  is  significant,  too,  that  these  pretenders  appeared  dur- 
ing "  a  time  of  unexampled  disaster  for  the  country  in  every 
quarter  "  when  "  the  Portuguese,  with  their  independence, 
seemed  to  have  lost  all  their  old  courage  and  heroism."  [H. 
Morse  Stephens,  The  Story  of  Portugal,  286-90.  New  York, 
1891.] 

The  Greek  empire  during  the  oppression  of  Islam  pic- 
tured for  itself  an  emperor  of  the  future,  who  was  to  be  one 
of  the  emperors  of  the  past  miraculously  awakened  from  his 
sleep  to  overcome  Islam  and  obtain  dominion  over  the  world. 
Everywhere  this  legend  of  a  sleeping  emperor  and  future 
savior  is  closely  interwoven  with  the  tradition  that  anti- 
Christ  and  oppression  precedes  the  national  triumph.  In 
fact,  throughout  Europe  the  belief  in  anti-Christ  was  inten- 
sified by  the  excitement  incurred  by  the  crusades.  The  time 
came  when  the  people  saw  Antichrist,  or  his  forerunner,  in 
every  ecclesiastical,  political,  national,  or  social  opponent, 
and  "  the  catchword  '  Anti-Christ '  sounded  on  all  sides :  in 
the  struggle  between  the  Emperor  and  the  Pope,  the  Guelfs 
and  Ghibellines,  opposing  Franciscans  and  the  Papacy,  be- 
tween heretics  and  the  Church,  reformative  social  movements 


The  Messianic  Idea  in  Christianity  191 

and  the  ruling  powers  opposed  to  them;  in  sculpture  and 
painting,  in  lyric,  epic,  and  dramatic  poetry  the  motives 
were  supplied  by  the  prophecy  of  anti-Christ."  [Anti- 
christ, in  Hastings'  E.R.E. ;  New  Inter.  Ency. ;  Cath.  Ency. ; 
Ency.  Britt.] 

In  the  thirteenth  century,  to  the  spiritual  Franciscans, 
as  well  as  to  the  short-lived  sect  known  as  Almericans,  the 
Church  was  regarded  as  Babylon  and  the  Pope  as  Antichrist. 
[Almericans,  in  Cyclopedia  of  Bibl.,  Theol.  and  Eccl.  Litera- 
ture, I,  169.  Papacy,  in  Hastings'  E.R.E.,  IX,  623.  For 
a  curious  defence  of  the  pope  against  the  Antichrist  charges, 
which  the  author  takes  as  supporting  his  divinity,  see  the 
article  on  the  Papacy. in  the  Catholic  Encyclopaedia.  Con- 
sult, in  this  connection,  Mommsen,  Provinces  of  the  Roman 
Empire,  II,  £14-5.  New  York,  1887 ;  and  art.  Deification,  in 
Hastings'  E.R.E.,  IV.  The  Mediaeval  Flagellants  allied 
themselves  with  chiliastic  expectations.  In  the  early  part 
of  the  fifteenth  century,  a  certain  Conrad  Schmidt,  one  of 
the  order  of  the  Flagellants  known  as  the  Brethren  of  the 
Cross,  gave  himself  out  as  an  incarnation  of  Enoch,  and 
prophesied  the  approaching  fall  of  the  Church  of  Rome. 
Flagellants,  in  Hastings'  E.R.E.,  VI,  50.] 

In  Russia  when  the  church  Council  in  1666  pronounced  an 
anathema  against  the  old  faith,  the  Rascolniks,  adherents  of 
the  old  orthodoxy,  announced  that  the  reign  of  Antichrist 
had  come.  The  date  of  the  Council  was  itself  confirmation 
of  this,  for  it  combined  the  apocalyptic  thousand  years  of 
Satan's  bondage  with  the  "  number  of  the  beast."  "  The 
popular  theologians  had  no  doubt  whatever  about  it,  and 
announced,  on  the  authority  of  the  same  book,  that  as  the 
reign  of  Antichrist  was  to  last  over  three  years,  the  end  of 
the  world  would  therefore  come  in  1669.  They  fixed  even 
the  date  of  this  portentous  event.  Some  declared  it  would 
come  about  on  the  eve  of  Whitsunday,  others  at  the  same 
hour  on  the  eve  of  Quinquagesima  Sunday. 

"  The  discovery  was  striking  enough  to  .stir  the  popular 
imagination,  and  many  took  the  bait.  When,  however,  the 
fatal  nights  had  passed  over,  and  the  whole  of  1669  with 
them,  and  yet  the  world  was  left  standing  pretty  much  as 


192  Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

before,  the  over-bold  prophets  had  to  experience  the  usual 
meed  of  jokes  and  abuses  from  the  disappointed  people. 
Protopop  Avvacum,  the  most  prominent  of  the  early  Rascol- 
niks,  explained,  as  most  unsuccessful  oracles  are  wont  to  do, 
that  his  prophecy  about  the  reign  of  Antichrist  must  be 
taken  in  a  spiritual  sense  —  that  Antichrist  had  not  yet  come 
in  the  flesh,  but  that  he  reigned  in  the  spirit  in  the  contami- 
nated church. 

"  With  the  advent  to  power  of  Peter  the  Great  the  Rascol 
substituted  for  the  spiritual  Antichrist  a  living  and  strik- 
ingly concrete  one  in  the  person  of  the  Czar  himself.  A 
sovereign  who  strove  to  deprive  the  men  of  their  likeness  to 
God  by  taking  off  their  beards ;  who  had  numbered  the  peo- 
ple in  defiance  of  a  clear  prohibition  of  the  Lord;  who 
changed  the  times  of  the  years  and  the  days  of  the  saints 
(introduction  of  the  new  calendar  in  place  of  the  old  one, 
which  had  begun  the  year  on  the  1st  of  September)  ;  who 
had  married  an  unchristian  heathen  (a  Protestant,  Cather- 
ine I),  and  had  had  her  crowned  as  empress  in  the  church; 
who  daily  committed  what  was  regarded  by  the  people  as 
sacrilege  —  could  not  be  other  than  Antichrist  himself.  A 
certain  Talizin,  merchant  by  occupation  and  Rascolnik  by 
creed,  was  the  first  to  formulate  these  views  in  writing.  He 
was  arrested,  tortured,  and  condemned  to  be  suffocated  by 
smoke.  But  the  idea  struck  root;  it  generated  spontane- 
ously in  the  minds  of  thousands. 

"  Panic-stricken  by  the  dread  of  Antichrist,  and  driven  on 
by  the  hardships  of  their  lives,  scores  of  thousands  of  the 
peasants  and  artisans  of  the  towns  fled  to  the  Rascol  set- 
tlements in  search  of  bodily  and  spiritual  safety."  [Step- 
niak,  The  Russian  Peasantry,  264-5,  279-81,  319.] 

In  1811  the  authorities  discovered  in  the  province  of 
Tambov  a  sect  called  Stranniky,  or  Begumy  (Wanderers), 
which  they  at  once  declared  to  be  dangerous,  knouting  and 
transporting  them  to  the  Siberian  mines.  They  had  given 
full  development  to  the  doctrine  of  Antichrist,  making  this 
doctrine  the  key-note  of  their  teaching. 

"  The  Czar  is  in  their  opinion  the  Prophet  of  the  Beast ; 
the  officials  are  his  ministers ;  the  two-headed  Imperial  eagle 


The  Messianic  Idea  in  Christianity  193 

is  the  seal  of  Antichrist,  the  sign  of  the  dragon.  Every  one 
who  offers  any  kind  of  homage  to  the  agents  of  Antichrist, 
or  who  pays  taxes  for  their  unholy  purposes,  or  allows  him- 
self to  be  numbered  and  registered,  or  accepts  a  passport 
or  any  other  document  sealed  with  the  Imperial  emblem,  ex- 
cludes himself  from  the  book  of  the  living,  and  is  doomed 
to  perdition  as  Antichrist's  servant  and  abettor. 

"  They  look  upon  their  coreligionists  who  came  to  terms 
with  the  Beast  with  the  same  disgust  and  abhorrence  as  they 
lavish  on  the  Niconians. 

"  In  describing  '  the  renewing  of  Antichrist,'  as  the  6  Wan- 
derers '  call  the  Emperor's  coronation,  their  founder  Efim 
indulges  in  the  following  details :  '  Then  there  come  to  wor- 
ship him, —  i.  e.,  to  offer  him  the  oath  of  allegiance  —  those 
fierce  fiends  the  bishops,  then  the  mock-popes  (Satan's  horses, 
who  transport  souls  to  hell,  to  their  father  the  evil  one)  ; 
next  follow  the  various  foul  apostatic  sects  —  the  Niconians 
first,  then  the  Old  Believers  (Popovzy),  the  accursed  Ar- 
menians, and  the  Pomorzy,  who  are  hateful  to  God.' 

"  The  faithful  are  warned  to  resist  anything  emanating 
from  the  Czar,  and  as  they  cannot  do  this  successfully,  that 
their  only  safety  lies  in  flight.  The  most  zealous  of  these 
sectarians  carry  out  this  principle  to  the  letter.  They  spend 
their  lives  in  wandering  from  place  to  place.  They  never 
remain  for  long  together  in  the  same  locality,  always  living 
concealed  in  the  houses  of  their  hosts  without  the  knowledge 
of  the  authorities.  They  pay  no  taxes,  apply  for  no  pass- 
ports, give  no  bribes,  and  avoid  all  contact  with  the  agents 
of  Antichrist." 

The  belief  in  Antichrist  is  not  yet  a  thing  of  the  past. 
In  a  Russian  village  of  the  present  day,  if  a  baby  is  born  of 
unusual  appearance,  it  is  liable  to  be  taken  for  the  Devil, 
or  for  Antichrist ;  and  a  stranger  who  can  not  give  a  satis- 
factory account  of  himself  may  meet  with  the  same  fate. 
[Stephen  Graham,  Undiscovered  Russia,  47.  New  York, 
1912.] 

A  prophecy  of  the  monk  Fratre  Johannes,  who  lived  about 
1600,  has  been  much  quoted  since  our  entrance  into  the  Euro- 
pean War.  This  prophecy  was  discovered  in  an  old  parch- 


194  Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

ment  in  the  Convent  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  at  Wiesmar,  Ger- 
many. As  a  key  to  the  prophecy  it  has  been  pointed  out  in 
the  press  of  this  country  that: 

The  Kaiser  is  a  German  Lutheran,  and  has  a  withered  arm. 

Germany  represents  the  Black  Eagle. 

Austria,  her  ally,  has  an  eagle  as  her  insignia. 

Russia  represents  the  white  eagle. 

France  is  the  Cock. 

The  British  Empire  is  the  Leopard. 

Thus  equipped  it  is  easy  to  see  the  ease  with  which  some 
Americans  have  applied  the  prophecy  of  Antichrist  and  his 
times  to  the  year  1918.  The  prophecy  declares: 

"  The  real  Antichrist  will  be  one  of  the  monarchs  of  his 
time,  a  Lutheran  Protestant.  He  will  invoke  God  and  give 
himself  out  as  his  messenger  or  apostle. 

"  This  prince  of  lies  will  swear  by  the  Bible.  He  will  rep- 
resent himself  as  the  arm  of  the  Most  High,  sent  to  chastise 
corrupt  peoples. 

"  He  will  have  only  one  arm,  but  his  innumerable  armies, 
who  will  take  for  their  device,  '  God  is  with  us,'  will  resemble 
the  infernal  regions. 

"  For  a  long  time  he  will  act  by  craft  and  strategy.  His 
spies  will  overrun  the  earth,  and  he  will  be  master  of  the 
secrets  of  the  nights.  He  will  have  learned  men  in  his  pay, 
who  will  maintain  and  undertake  to  prove  his  celestial  mis- 
sion. 

"  A  war  will  afford  him  the  opportunity  of  throwing  off 
the  mask.  It  will  not  be  in  the  first  instance  a  war  which  he 
will  wage  against  a  French  Monarch.  But  it  will  be  one  of 
such  nature  that  after  two  weeks  all  will  realize  its  universal 
character. 

"  Not  only  all  Christians,  but  Mussulmans  and  even  more 
distant  peoples  will  be  involved.  Armies  will  be  involved 
from  the  four  quarters  of  the  earth. 

"  For  by  the  third  week  the  angels  will  perceive  that  the 
man  is  Antichrist  and  that  all  will  become  his  slaves  if  they 
do  not  overcome  this  conqueror. 

"  Antichrist  will  be  recognized  by  various  tokens  —  in  spe- 
cial he  will  massacre  the  priests,  the  monks,  the  women,  the 


The  Messianic  Idea  in  Christianity  195 

children  and  the  aged.  He  will  show  no  mercy,  but  will  pass 
torch  in  hand  like  the  barbarians,  but  invoking  Christ. 

"  His  words  of  imposture  will  resemble  those  of  Christians 
but  his  vows  will  be  like  those  of  all  the  human  race. 

"  He  will  have  an  eagle  in  his  arms,  there  will  also  be  an 
eagle  in  the  arms  of  his  Confederate.  But  the  latter  will  be 
a  Christian  and  will  die  from  the  Malediction  of  Pope  Bene- 
dict, who  will  be  elected  at  the  beginning  of  the  reign  of  the 
Antichrist. 

"  In  order  to  conquer  Antichrist,  it  will  be  necessary  to 
kill  more  men  than  Rome  ever  contained.  It  will  need  the 
energies  of  all  the  kingdoms  because  the  cock,  the  leopard, 
and  the  White  Eagle  will  not  be  able  to  make  an  end  of  the 
black  eagle  without  the  aid  of  the  prayers  and  vows  of  the 
human  race. 

"  Never  will  humanity  have  been  faced  with  such  a  peril, 
because  the  triumph  of  the  Antichrist  would  be  that  of  the 
demon,  who  will  have  taken  possession  of  his  personality. 

"  For  it  has  been  said  that  twenty  centuries  after  the  in- 
carnation in  work  the  beast  will  be  incarnated  in  his  turn 
and  will  menace  the  work  with  as  many  evils  as  the  divine  in- 
carnation has  brought  it  graces. 

"  Toward  the  year  two  thousand  Antichrist  will  be  made 
manifest.  His  army  will  surpass  in  numbers  anything  that 
can  be  imagined.  There  will  be  Christians  among  his  cohorts 
and  there  will  be  Mohammedans  among  the  defendants  of  the 
lamb  as  well  as  some  heathen  soldiers. 

"  For  the  first  time  the  lamb  will  be  red  —  for  blood  will 
flow  in  the  domains  of  the  four  elephants  at  once. 

"  The  black  eagle  will  come  from  the  land  of  Luther,  and 
will  make  a  surprise  attack  upon  the  cock. 

"  The  white  eagle  will  come  from  the  north. 

"  The  black  eagle  will  find  itself  forced  to  let  go  the  cock 
in  order  to  fight  with  the  eagles,  whereupon  the  cock  will 
have  to  pursue  the  black  eagle  into  the  land  of  the  Antichrist 
to  aid  the  white  eagle. 

"  The  battles  fought  up  to  that  time  will  be  as  nothing 
compared  to  that  which  will  take  place  in  the  Lutheran 
country. 


196  Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

"  When  the  beast  finds  himself  lost  he  will  become  furious. 

"  Men  will  be  able  to  cross  the  rivers  over  the  bodies  of 
the  dead. 

"  Antichrist  will  sue  for  peace  many  times,  but  the  seven 
angels  who  march  before  three  animals  of  the  land  will  have 
proclaimed  that  victory  will  not  be  given  except  on  condi- 
tions that  Antichrist  will  be  crushed  like  straw  upon  the 
threshing1  floor. 

"  The  three  animals  will  not  be  permitted  to  cease  fight- 
ing so  long  as  Antichrist  has  soldiers. 

"  It  will  be  made  manifest  that  the  combat,  which  will  be 
fought  out  in  that  part  of  the  country  in  which  Antichrist 
forges  his  arms  is  not  a  human  conflict.  The  animal  defend- 
ers of  the  lamb  will  exterminate  the  last  army  of  Antichrist. 

"  Antichrist  will  lose  his  crown  and  will  die  in  solitude  and 
madness.  His  empire  will  be  divided  into  twenty-two  states 
but  none  will  have  any  longer  fortifications,  armies,  or  ships 
of  war. 

"  The  white  eagle,  by  order  of  Michael,  will  drive  the  Cres- 
cent out  of  Europe,  where  there  will  be  no  longer  any  but 
Christians.  He  will  install  himself  at  Constantinople." 

[The  manuscript  referred  to  is  kept  in  a  glass  case  in  the 
city  of  Wiesmar.] 


CHAPTER  VII 

MESSIAHS    AND    MIRACLES 

IAMBLICUS,  it  is  true,  indulged  in  laughter  when  asked 
if  it  were  true  that  he  sometimes  floated  in  the  air  when 
saying  his  prayers ;  but  he  was  a  philosopher,  not  a  messiah. 
During  the  Sabbataian  craze  a  banker  in  Amsterdam  who 
had  uttered  some  irreverent  remarks  about  the  Messiah  sud- 
denly fell  down  dead.  After  this  proof  of  supernatural  in- 
tervention the  belief  of  the  credulous  crowd  in  the  miraculous 
and  far-reaching  power  of  the  Messiah  could  never  be  shaken. 
[Schindler,  14?5-6.]  Perhaps,  as  Reimarus  insisted  (in  the 
first  part  of  the  eighteenth  century),  in  Jerusalem,  when  all 
the  people  had  been  looking  for  a  manifestation  of  the  mes- 
siahship  of  Jesus,  a  miracle  would  have  had  a  tremendous 
effect  upon  popular  credence :  "  If  only  a  single  miracle 
had  been  publicly,  convincingly,  undeniably,  performed  by 
Jesus  before  all  the  people  on  one  of  the  great  days  of  the 
Feast,  such  is  human  nature  that  all  the  people  would  at 
once  have  flocked  to  His  standard."  [Schweitzer,  The  Quest 
of  the  Historical  Jesus,  19.  Consult  this  work  for  a  de- 
tailed account  of  the  importance  assigned  to  miracles  by 
various  writers  on  the  life  of  Christ.  See  also,  Miracles,  in 
Hastings'  Ency.  Rel.  and  Ethics,  Vol.  VIII.] 

When  the  Hurons  declared  that  nothing  had  gone  right 
with  them  since  the  coming  of  the  Jesuits  into  their  midst 
and  attributed  their  misfortune  to  the  visitation  of  the  latter, 
Brebeuf  replied  by  "  drawing  the  attention  of  the  savages  to 
the  absurdity  of  their  principles."  That  nothing  had  turned 
out  well  for  the  Hurons  he  did  not  for  a  moment  deny. 
"  The  reason,"  he  said,  "  plainly  is  that  God  is  angry  with 
your  hardness  of  heart."  At  these  words  the  malignant 
Huron  wizard  at  whose  bidding  the  council  had  been  called 
and  Brebeuf  summoned  before  it,  fell  down  dead  at  the  feet 

197 


198  Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

of  the  missionary.  No  longer  was  there  any  doubt  of  the 
sanction  of  his  mission  by  a  supernatural  being.  [Charle- 
voix,  Histoire  de  la  France  Nouvelle,  I,  192.] 

Similarly,  the  Mandan  chief  who,  thanks  to  the  aid  of 
arsenic  borrowed  from  the  whites,  was  able  successfully  to 
prophesy  the  exact  time  and  suddenness  of  the  death  of  his 
opponents,  rose  in  the  estimation  of  his  people,  as  a  man 
possessing  great  supernatural  power.  [Catlin,  Letters,  II, 
117.] 

Among  the  messianic  religions  that  have  appeared  in  ab- 
original America  the  supernatural  element  has  always  been 
prominent.  Pope,  the  first  of  these  prophets,  who  flourished 
in  the  Pueblo  region  in  1680,  a  medicine  man  of  the  Tewa, 
"  had  come  back  from  a  pilgrimage  to  the  far  north,  where 
he  claimed  to  have  visited  the  magic  lagoon  of  Shipapu, 
whence  his  people  traced  their  origin  and  to  which  the  souls 
of  their  dead  returned  after  leaving  this  life.  By  these  an- 
cestral spirits  he  had  been  endowed  with  occult  powers  and 
commanded  to  go  back  and  rouse  the  Pueblos  to  concerted 
effort  for  the  deliverance  from  the  foreign  yoke  of  the 
strangers.  Wonderful  beings  were  these  spirit  messengers. 
Swift  as  light  and  impalpable  as  thought  they  passed  under 
the  earth  from  the  magic  lake  to  the  secret  subterranean 
chamber  of  the  oracle  and  stood  before  him  in  shapes  of  fire, 
and  spoke,  telling  him  to  prepare  the  strings  of  yucca  knots 
and  send  them  with  the  message  to  all  of  the  Pueblos  far  and 
near,  so  that  in  every  village  the  chiefs  might  untie  a  knot 
from  the  string  each  day  and  know  when  they  came  to  the 
last  knot  that  then  was  the  time  to  strike  (their  enemies  the 
Spaniards)." 

The  Delaware  prophet  of  176&  procured  his  message  to 
his  people  directly  from  the  "  Master  of  Life,"  whom  he 
visited  in  a  journey  to  the  spirit  world.  "  Ignorant  of  the 
way  and  not  knowing  any  person,  who,  having  been  there, 
could  direct  him,  he  performed  a  mystic  rite  in  the  hope  of 
receiving  some  light  as  to  the  course  he  should  pursue.  He 
fell  into  a  deep  sleep,  in  which  he  dreamed  that  it  was  only 
necessary  to  begin  his  journey  and  that  by  continuing  to 
walk  forward  he  would  at  last  arrive  at  his  destination. 


«  T7o^ 


Messiahs  and  Miracles  199 


"  Early  next  morning,  taking  his  gun,  ammunition  and 
kettle,  he  started  off,  firmly  convinced  that  by  pressing  for- 
ward without  discouragement  he  should  accomplish  his  ob- 
ject. Day  after  day  he  proceeded  without  incident,  until  at 
sunset  of  the  eighth  day,  while  preparing  to  encamp  for  the 
night  by  the  side  of  a  small  stream  in  a  little  opening  in  the 
forest,  he  noticed  running  out  from  the  edge  of  the  prairie, 
three  wide  well-trodden  paths.  Wondering  somewhat  that 
they  should  be  there,  he  finished  his  temporary  lodging  and, 
lighting  a  fire,  began  to  prepare  his  supper.  While  thus 
engaged,  he  observed  with  astonishment  that  the  paths  grew 
more  distinct  as  the  night  grew  darker.  Alarmed  at  the 
strange  appearance,  he  was  about  to  abandon  his  encamp- 
ment and  seek  another  at  a  safer  distance,  when  he  remem- 
bered his  dream  and  the  purpose  of  his  journey."  The  first 
path  and  likewise  the  second,  proved  culs  de  sac,  but  the 
third  took  him  into  the  presence  of  the  Master  of  Life  from 
whom  he  derived  the  divine  message  that  he  carried  to  his 
people. 

The  Shawnee  prophet,  Teuskwatawa,  i.  e.,  "  The  Open 
Door,"  reinforced  his  supernatural  knowledge  by  the  assist- 
ance of  information  derived  from  the  white  man.  "  By  some 
means  he  had  learned  that  an  eclipse  of  the  sun  was  to  take 
place  in  the  summer  of  1806.  As  the  time  drew  near,  he 
called  about  him  the  scoffers  and  boldly  announced  that  on 
a  certain  day  he  would  prove  to  them  his  supernatural  au- 
thority by  causing  the  sun  to  become  dark.  When  the  day 
and  hour  arrived  and  the  earth  at  mid-day  was  enveloped  in 
the  gloom  of  twilight  Teuskwatawa,  standing  in  the  midst  of 
the  terrified  Indians  pointed  to  the  sky  and  cried,  '  Did  I  not 
speak  truth?  See,  the  sun  is  dark!'  There  were  no  more 
doubters  now.  All  proclaimed  him  a  true  prophet  and  the 
messenger  of  the  Master  of  Life.  His  fame  spread  abroad 
and  apostles  began  to  carry  his  revelations  to  the  remotest 
tribes."  The  prophet  was  held  to  be  an  incarnation  of 
Manabozho  the  great  "first  doer"  (culture  hero)  of  the 
Algonquin,  and  his  words  were  believed  to  be  the  direct 
utterances  of  a  deity. 

Smohalla  gave  evidence  of  his  divine  incarnation  by  fall- 


200  Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

ing  into  trances  and  lying  rigid  for  a  considerable  time. 
"  Unbelievers  have  experimented  by  sticking  needles  through 
his  flesh,  cutting  him  with  knives,  and  otherwise  testing  his 
sensibility  to  pain,  without  provoking  any  responsive  action. 
It  was  asserted  that  he  was  surely  dead,  because  blood  did 
not  flow  from  the  wounds.  These  trances,"  says  Murray, 
who  seems  to  have  witnessed  them,  "  always  excite  great  in- 
terest and  often  alarm,  as  he  threatens  to  abandon  his  earthly 
body  altogether  because  of  the  disobedience  of  his  people, 
and  on  each  occasion  they  are  in  a  state  of  suspense  as  to 
whether  the  Saghalee  Tyec  will  send  his  soul  back  to  earth  to 
reoccupy  his  body,  or  will,  on  the  contrary,  abandon  and 
leave  them  without  his  guidance.  It  is  this  going  into  long 
trances,  out  of  which  he  comes  as  from  heavy  sleep  and  almost 
immediately  relates  his  experiences  in  the  spirit  land,  that 
gave  rise  to  the  title  of  '  Dreamers,'  or  believers  in  dreams, 
commonly  given  to  his  followers  by  the  whites."  This 
prophet,  like  the  one  previously  described,  added  to  the  re- 
spect entertained  for  him  by  his  followers,  by  predicting  sev- 
eral eclipses  and  conveying  the  idea  to  his  believers  that  he 
was  able  to  control  the  elements  and  the  heavenly  bodies. 
He  submitted  to  Major  MacMurray  an  almanac  of  a  preced- 
ing year  requesting  him  to  readjust  it  for  eclipses,  since 
"  it  did  not  work  as  it  had  formerly  done."  MacMurray 's 
inability  to  repair  the  188&  almanac  so  that  it  would  prog- 
nosticate the  eclipses  for  1884  lost  him  much  respect  in  the 
eyes  of  the  prophet  as  "  a  wise  man  of  the  east." 

Wovoka,  the  Paiute  prophet  who  originated  the  great 
Ghost  Dance  religion  of  the  Plains,  received  his  principal 
revelation  when  the  sun  "  died,"  that  is,  during  an  eclipse 
(in  18'87?),  when  he  fell  asleep  during  the  day,  was  trans- 
planted to  the  other  world,  and  there  communed  with  God, 
receiving  the  message  that  he  brought  back  to  his  people. 
"  God  gave  him  control  over  the  elements  so  that  he  could 
make  it  rain  or  snow  or  be  dry  at  will,  and  appointed  him  his 
deputy  to  take  charge  of  affairs  in  the  west,  while  6  Gover- 
nor Harrison  '  would  attend  to  matters  in  the  east,  and  he, 
God,  would  look  after  the  world  above.  He  then  returned 
to  earth  and  began  to  preach,  as  he  was  directed,  convincing 


Messiahs  and  Miracles  201 

the  people  by  exercising  the  wonderful  powers  that  had  been 
given  him." 

The  failure  of  certain  things  to  happen  according  to  the 
prediction  of  the  Messiah,  Wovoka,  in  September,  1890, 
caused  a  temporary  loss  of  faith  on  the  part  of  the  Cheyenne, 
•but  their  faith  was  reinvigorated  by  the  Shoshoni  and  Ara- 
paho  from  Wyoming,  who  shortly  thereafter  visited  them, 
bringing  the  report  that  "  in  their  journey  as  they  came  over 
they  had  met  a  party  of  Indians  who  had  been  dead  thirty 
or  forty  years,  but  had  been  resurrected  by  the  messiah,  and 
were  now  going  about  as  if  they  had  never  died." 

The  delegates  whom  the  Sioux  sent  to  investigate  the 
claims  of  the  Paiute  Messiah  returned  with  an  account  of  his 
wonderful  performances.  "  It  was  claimed  that  he  could 
make  animals  talk  and  distant  objects  appear  close  at  hand, 
and  that  he  came  down  from  heaven  in  a  cloud.  He  conjured 
up  before  their  eyes  a  vision  of  the  spirit  world,  so  that  when 
they  looked  they  beheld  an  ocean,  and  beyond  it  a  land  upon 
which  they  saw  i  all  the  nations  of  Indians  coming  home,'  but 
as  they  looked  the  vision  faded  away,  the  messiah  saying  that 
the  time  had  not  yet  come.  Should  the  soldiers  attempt  to 
harm  him,  he  said  he  need  only  stretch  out  his  arms  and  his 
enemies  would  become  powerless,  or  the  ground  would  open 
and  swallow  them.  On  their  way  home  if  they  should  kill 
a  buffalo  they  must  cut  off  its  head  and  tail  and  feet  and 
leave  them  on  the  ground  and  the  buffalo  would  come  to  life 
again."  This  promise  was  confirmed  by  their  experience  on 
the  return  trip. 

Said  one  of  these  delegates :  "  When  coming  we  came  to 
a  herd  of  buffaloes.  We  killed  one  and  took  everything 
except  the  four  feet,  head,  and  tail,  and  when  we  came  a  little 
ways  from  it  there  were  the  buffaloes  come  to  life  again  and 
went  off."  Thus  was  the  Messiah's  promise  fulfilled.  A 
further  promise  of  the  Messiah  had  been,  "  I  will  shorten 
your  journey  when  you  feel  tired  of  the  long  ways,  if  you 
call  upon  me."  "  This  we  did,"  said  his  followers,  "  when 
we  were  tired.  The  night  came  upon  us,  we  stopped  at  a 
place  and  we  called  upon  the  Messiah  to  help  us  because  we 
were  tired  of  the  long  journey.  We  went  to  sleep  and  in 


202  Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

the  morning  we  found  ourselves  at  a  great  distance  from  the 
place  where  we  had  stopped." 

[The  above  account  is  based  on  Mooney's  study  in  14 
A.  R.  B.  E.,  see  especially  pp.  659-60,  663,  674-5,  719, 
771-2,  813,  819,  821,  907,  1-62.] 

The  Mohammedan  Mahdis  reveled  in  miracles,  scarcely  one 
of  them  failing  to  make  pretence  at  being  adept  in  their  per- 
formance. Their  claims  to  such  power  have  been  frequently 
mentioned  in  the  accounts  already  given  of  them.  Even  Ibn 
Tumart  was  not  free  from  such  pretensions.  To  restore  the 
faith  of  some  who  were  about  to  desert  him  he  bade  a  few 
of  his  trusty  followers  submit  to  burial  with  reeds  provided 
for  breathing  purposes.  He  then  called  the  weary  ones  to 
their  graves  and  said  he  would  prove  to  them  the  bliss  of 
those  who  had  died  in  his  cause.  To  Ibn  Tumart's  question 
came  answers  from  these  buried  faithful  followers  which  left 
in  the  minds  of  those  present  no  doubt  of  the  bliss  in  store 
for  them.  Then,  when  they  had  gone  away  convinced,  this 
heartless  Mahdi,  reflecting  that  the  dead  tell  no  tales  — 
although  they  had  only  finished  doing  so  —  filled  up  the 
vents  to  the  graves  by  lighting  fires  over  them.  Their  re- 
ward was  truly  in  the  next  world.  [B.  Meaken,  Moorish 
Empire,  69.]  A  similar  trick  and  similar  treachery  is  said 
to  have  been  employed  by  a  Moorish  pretender  of  the  nine- 
teenth century. 

The  condemned  Hallaj  is  described  in  the  oldest  historical 
books  that  mention  him,  as  a  reckless  and  unprincipled  agi- 
tator who  "  dabbled  in  alchemy  and  magic,  and  imposed  on 
the  vulgar  by  performing  miracles  which  were  only  the  tricks 
of  a  clever  conjurer."  [Hastings'  Ency.  of  Religion  and 
Ethics,  VI,  481.]  Rashid  ad-Din  Sinan,  a  twelfth  century 
Mahdi,  claimed  to  be  able  to  answer  letters  that  he  had  not 
read,  and  could  hold  conversations  with  a  trunkless  head. 
[Assassins,  Hastings'  E.R.E.,  II,  141.] 

Supernaturalism  has  been  a  frequent  appeal  among  the 
Jewish  peoples.  The  prophets  of  the  Old  Testament  repeat- 
edly appealed  to  natural  disasters  as  heralds  of  the  approach 
of  "  the  day  of  the  Lord."  Joel  gave  assurance  that  the 
"  great  and  dreadful  day  "  would  be  announced  by  signs  in 


Messiahs  and  Miracles  203 


heaven  and  on  earth.  Prophets  would  appear  on  every  side ; 
there  would  be  rivers  of  blood,  fire,  smoke,  a  darkened  sun,  a 
bloody  moon.  The  writer  of  Acts  refers  to  similar  omens. 
[Acts  II,  17-21;  Joel  ch.  I  and  II.]  Did  not  Jesus  also 
predict  earthquakes,  famines,  pestilence  in  divers  places,  as 
the  beginning  of  the  birthpangs,  while  the  immediate  signs 
of  his  coming  were  eclipses,  a  darkened  moon,  stars  falling 
from  the  sky,  the  air  troubled,  the  sea  roaring,  the  people 
fleeing  in  terror,  not  knowing  whither  they  might  turn  to 
escape  the  overwhelming  disaster?  [Matt.,  Mark,  Luke. 
See  Prodigies  and  Portents  in  Hastings'  Ency.  of  Rel.  and 
Ethics,  X.] 

A  supernatural  character  befits  the  divine  ruler.  Hence 
to  assure  the  divine  nature  of  the  ruler,  and  as  a  logical 
result  of  his  supposed  divinity,  his  origin  was  attributed  to 
some  other  than  natural  birth.  "  It  seems  to  me  that  a  hero 
totally  unlike  any  other  human  being  could  not  have  been 
born  without  the  agency  of  the  deity,"  said  the  biographer 
Arrian  when  discussing  the  parentage  of  Alexander  the 
Great.  "  He  to  whom  the  gods  themselves  reveal  the  future, 
who  imposes  their  will  even  on  kings  and  peoples,  cannot  be 
fashioned  by  the  same  womb  which  bore  us  ignorant  men," 
said  the  Augustan  writer  Arellius  Fuscus,  in  his  discussion 
of  astrologers.  The  wise  Apollonius  of  Tyana,  a  contem- 
porary of  Christ,  was  traditionally  believed  to  be  a  descend- 
ant of  Proteus,  god  of  Egypt.  His  birth  was  accompanied 
by  an  appropriate  display  of  miracles :  "  swans  sported 
about  the  mother  in  the  meadow,  and  a  thunderbolt  descend- 
ing from  heaven  arose  aloft  again,  thus  presaging  the  won- 
derful accomplishments  by  which  Apollonius  was  to  be  dis- 
tinguished." Son  of  God  was  an  appellation  frequently  ap- 
plied to  rulers  in  Egypt,  Babylonia,  and  Assyria,  and  in 
Greece  and  Rome  to  the  semi-divine  hero.  Augustus  was 
given  the  title  of  Dei  filius,  and  many  wonders  preceded  and 
followed  his  supernatural  birth,  if  we  are  to  believe  Suetonius. 
[Articles  on  Incarnation,  in  Hastings'  E.R.E.,  VII,  188— 
200.] 

Theudas,  who  was  beheaded  by  Cuspius  Fadus  in  46  A.  D., 
and  who,  in  the  reign  of  Claudius,  announced  himself  the 


£04?  Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

Messiah,  did  not  depend  upon  military  strength  or  diplo- 
macy, but  looked  for  a  miraculous  establishment  by  God  of 
the  Kingdom  of  Israel  in  place  of  the  Roman  empire.  The 
fifth  century  enthusiast,  Moses  of  Crete,  inspired  such  faith 
in  his  power  to  divide  the  waters  of  the  sea  and  lead  the  peo- 
ple dry-shod  to  the  Promised  Land,  that  his  followers  threw 
themselves  off  a  cliff  into  the  Mediterranean,  anticipating 
the  fulfillment  of  the  promise.  [Greenstone,  109-11.] 

Bar-Cochba,  the  Jewish  Messiah  who  arose  in  Syria  about 
A.  D.  130,  puffed  forth  burning  tow  from  his  mouth  in  order 
to  give  himself  the  appearance  of  spitting  fire.  With  his 
knees  he  cast  back  the  huge  stones  thrown  by  the  Roman 
siege  machines.  [H.  Graetz,  History  of  the  Jews,  II,  410.] 
The  Messiah  who  was  foretold  by  Moses  de  Leon,  in  the  thir- 
teenth century,  was  to  be  heralded  by  signs  and  miracles, 
resurrection  of  the  dead  and  mutual  extermination  of  Ma- 
hometans and  Christians.  [Ib.,  IV,  18.]  Lobele  Prosnitz, 
the  Sabbataian  impostor  who  flourished  in  Berlin  early  in 
the  eighteenth  century,  gained  divinity  in  the  eyes  of  the 
credulous  through  dazzling  letters  on  which  alcohol  and  tur- 
pentine burned.  [Ib.,  V,  219.] 

The  Christians,  while  not  disputing  these  miracles  were 
disposed  to  give  them  another  interpretation.  Thus,  the  at- 
tempt made  by  the  Jews  in  363,  under  the  benignant  Em- 
peror Julian,  to  rebuild  the  temple,  was,  according  to  the 
Christian  writers,  connected  with  most  wonderful  miracles 
whose  purpose  was  to  warn  the  Jews  and  glorify  Christ. 
[II,  601.] 

Miracle  working  has  been  an  almost  invariant  accompani- 
ment of  all  the  messianic  claims  and  manifestations  of  which 
we  have  record,  giving  confidence  to  the  messiah  and  re- 
kindling the  ardor  and  faith  of  his  followers,  converting  the 
dubious,  and  fortifying  the  confident.  [Miracles,  Hastings' 
E.R.E.,  VIII,  and  sec.  on  Miracles  and  Resurrection  in  art., 
Jesus  Christ,  Ib.,  VII,  513^4,  523-4.  Miracles,  and  Resur- 
rection, in  Diet,  of  Christ  and  the  Gospels.] 

Simon  Magus,  so  called  because  of  his  practise  of  sorcery, 
or  magic,  who  was  born  in  Samaria,  and  attained  fame  in  the 
half  of  the  first  century  A.  D.,  maintained  his  religious 


Messiahs  and  Miracles  205 

prestige  by  means  of  his  magic  art.  His  Samaritan  follow- 
ers recognized  him  as  the  incarnation  of  the  Supreme  Deity, 
and  he,  nothing  loth  to  accept  these  honors  announced  him- 
self as  supremely  divine :  "  Ego  sum  Dei,  ego  sum  Speciosus, 
ego  Paracletus,  ego  Omnipotens,  ego  omnia  Dei,"  are  words 
attributed  to  him  by  St.  Jerome. 

A  statue  is  said  to<  have  been  erected  to  him  in  Rome, 
dedicated  to  "  Semoni  Deo  Sancto."1  According  to  one 
early  authority,  Hippolytus,  he  was  buried  alive  at  his  own 
request,  confident  that  he  would  rise  again  on  the  third  day. 
Another  account  declares  he  met  his  death  when  he  at- 
tempted, in  proof  of  supernatural  power,  to  fly,  falling,  in 
answer  to  the  prayers  of  Peter,  and  fracturing  his  thigh  and 
ankle  bones ;  then,  in  despair,  committing  suicide. 

The  church  fathers,  from  Irenaeus  on,  declare  he  was  re- 
garded by  his  followers  as  Messiah,  a  manifestation  of  the 
supreme  deity.  Some  suppose  him  to  be  the  Antichrist  so 
frequently  referred  to  in  the  Apocalyptic  writings.  [See 
the  accounts  given  in  art.  Messiahs,  False,  in  the  Ency.  Bibl., 
and  in  the  Cyclopaedia  of  Bibl.,  Theol.  and  Eccles.  Litera- 
ture.] 

In  1167,  the  same  year  that  David  Alroy  proclaimed  his 
messiahship  in  Fez,  to  the  great  detriment  of  the  Jews  of 
that  place,  an  Arabian  professed  to  be  the  Messiah,  and  to 
work  miracles.  He  declared  he  was  a  prophet  sent  from 
God,  and  suggested  that,  to  test  his  claims,  they  sever  his 
head,  assuring  them  that  he  would  return  to  life  afterward. 
The  king  applied  the  test,  nothing  loth  to  take  the  claimant 
at  his  word ;  resurrection  did  not  follow. 

Not  long  after  this  a  Jew  dwelling  beyond  the  Euphrates 
called  himself  Messiah  and  drew  after  him  a  large  following. 
As  a  proof  of  his  mission  he  declared  he  had  been  cured  of 
leprosy  in  the  course  of  a  night.  He,  too,  perished,  with 
consequent  hard  fate  for  his  devotees. 

In  1178  a  false  Messiah  arose  in  Persia,  seducing  with 
miracles  many  of  the  people.  In  1176  David  Almasser,  in 
Moravia,  a  great  cabbalist,  pretended  he  could  make  himself 
invisible.  In  1199  David  el-David,  a  man  of  learning,  and  a 
magician,  claimed  messiahship  in  Persia.  [Ib.] 


206  Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

Similarly,  the  Antichrist  is  expected  to  perform  miracles 
numerous  and  wonderful.  "  The  Man-fiend  will  heal  the 
sick,  raise  the  dead,  restore  sight  to  the  blind,  hearing  to  the 
deaf,  speech  to  the  dumb ;  he  will  raise  storms  and  calm  them, 
will  remove  mountains,  make  trees  nourish  or  wither  at  a 
word.  He  will  rebuild  the  temple  at  Jerusalem,  making  the 
Holy  City  the  capital  of  the  world.  Popular  opinion  added 
that  his  vast  wealth  would  be  obtained  from  hidden  treasures, 
which  are  now  being  concealed  by  the  demons  for  his  use." 
[From  Rabanus  Maurus'  work  on  the  life  of  Antichrist, 
given  by  S.  Baring-Gould,  Curious  Myths  of  the  Middle 
Ages,  168.  Boston,  1889.] 

Cagliostro,  the  God  on  earth  heralded  by  Cardinal  De 
Rohan  shortly  before  the  French  Revolution,  was  a  worker 
of  prodigious  miracles.  He  made  diamonds  out  of  nothing 
and  had  unbounded  wealth.  On  one  occasion  he  collected  his 
followers  about  him  to  witness  the  resurrection  of  the  athe- 
ist, D'Alembert.  The  Encyclopedist  appeared,  a  skeleton 
wrapped  in  a  winding  sheet,  and  assured  them  that  there  was 
no  other  world  —  presumably  not  even  the  one  from  which  he 
had  come.  In  1781  he  was  astonishing  the  people  of  Stras- 
burg  by  his  cures.  According  to  his  own  version  he  had  been 
a  friend  of  Abraham  as  well  as  one  of  the  guests  at  the  wed- 
ding in  Cana,  and  meanwhile  had  discovered  the  art  of  living 
forever.  A  cardinal  of  the  church,  De  Rohan,  erected  to  him 
a  marble  bust  bearing  an  inscription  hailing  him  as  God  of 
the  earth.  [Shailer  Mathews,  The  French  Revolution,  49^- 
50  New  York,  1911.  A  short  time  before  this,  during  the 
reign  of  Louis  XVI,  owing  to  the  prevalence  of  miracles  at  a 
Jansenist's  grave,  the  gates  at  the  St.  Meddard  Cemetery 
were  closed.  Next  morning  over  the  locked  gates  appeared 
the  following  inscription :  "  By  order  of  the  king.  God  is 
hereby  forbidden  to  work  miracles  in  this  place."] 


CHAPTER  VIII 

THE    MESSIAH    AND    POLITICS 

Judaism 

THE  career  of  the  Messiah  anticipated  by  the  Samaritan 
colony  at  Shechem,  in  Syria,  will  be  one  of  "  victory 
and  tranquil  rule,  primarily  religious,  but  with  some  political 
significance."  [Open  Court,  May  and  September,  1907.] 
The  messianic  ideal  of  Israel  has  never  lost  its  political  tinge. 
It  began  with  political  aspirations  foremost  and  they  have 
never  receded,  save  here  and  there  and  for  a  moment  only, 
into  the  background.  This  belief  we  have  already  discussed 
in  the  chapter  on  the  Jewish  Messiah  where  we  have  shown 
the  very  large  extent  to  which  this  Messiah  was  a  savior 
from  political  oppression. 

There  is  good  reason  for  the  political  affiliation.  Some 
kind  of  belief  in  a  future  of  rewards  and  punishments  seems 
necessary  to  a  nation  groaning  under  oppression.  Under 
the  most  stinging  wrongs  they  hope,  and  hope  breeds  belief 
in  salvation.  Then  is  the  future  assured.  So  throughout 
Judaism  the  messianic  ideal,  though  little  more  than  an 
uneasy  dream  of  an  ideal  future,  has  brightened  the  existing 
present  reality  and  made  it  tolerable.  The  political  needs 
have  called  forth  a  long  succession  of  Messiahs  who,  in  turn, 
have  fanned  the  flames  and  kept  these  needs  alive.  Only  in 
the  dying  community  of  isolated  Jews  in  China  has  this  ideal 
faded  from  sight.  [Israel  Abrahams,  Jewish  Life  in  the 
Middle  Ages,  5,  168.  Philadelphia,  1911.  G.  Karpeles,  A 
Sketch  of  Jewish  History,  34ff.  Emil  Schiirer,  History  of 
the  Jewish  People  in  the  Time  of  Christ.  Second  Division,  II, 
12S'ff.  New  York.  No  date.  Art.,  China  (Jews  in),  Hast- 
ings' E.R.E.] 

The  conditions  surrounding  the  inception  of  the  messianic 

207 


208  Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

hope  have  already  been  referred  to.  We  may  now  make 
brief  reference  to  the  political  crises  which  at  once  gave 
origin  and  impetus  to  this  belief. 

The  great  forward  movement  in  the  religion  of  Israel 
dates  from  about  the  middle  of  the  eighth  century  B.  c.,  a 
time  of  outward  prosperity,  the  long  Aramaen  war  being 
over,  and  the  frontiers,  thanks  to  Jeroboam  II,  rectified  to 
the  advantage  of  Israel.  To  Jahweh  was  given  the  credit 
for  Israel's  victories  and  the  resurgent  commerce  which  came 
in  their  train.  He  was  duly  repaid  by  offerings  and  sacri- 
fices, though  the  material  for  them  was  frequently  the  result 
of  extortion  and  robbery. 

But  Amos,  the  first  of  these  prophets  whose  writings  have 
been  given  the  honor  of  a  separate  book,  saw  the  threat  writ- 
ten in  the  expanding  power  of  Assyria,  that  wolf  which  was 
already  prowling  about  the  fold.  It  was  this  impending  ca- 
lamity, unforeseen  by  the  masses,  which  called  forth  the  stir- 
ring eloquence  of  this  prophet.  He  demanded  a  new  con- 
ception of  Jahweh  and  a  new  ethical  attitude  toward  him. 

As  the  day  of  national  reckoning  approached,  Hosea 
sought  to  continue  the  ethical  reform  of  Amos  and  instil 
even  loftier  ideas  of  Jahweh's  demands  upon  Israel. 

Next  came  Isaiah,  who  dared  to  state  that  Assyria  had 
been,  in  the  hand  of  Jahweh,  a  scourge  to  punish  Israel  for 
her  wickedness ;  this  being  accomplished,  Assyrian  ambition 
and  cruelty  must  be  punished. 

About  the  year  626  news  of  the  havoc  which  the  Scythians 
were  working  in  the  districts  north  of  Palestine,  menacing 
Judah  itself,  caused  the  prophets  to  preach  repentance  in 
order  to  avert  the  threatened  blow.  It  was  at  this  crisis 
that  Jeremiah  spoke  and  wrought  great  influence  in  giving 
trend  to  the  religious  development.  The  prophet's  activity 
was  again  aroused  by  the  defeat  of  Pharaoh  at  the  battle  of 
Carchemish.  "  His  earlier  anticipation  of  Judah's  ruin  at 
the  hands  of  a  foe  from  the  north  had  not  been  realized ;  the 
Scythians  came  very  near  but  there  is  no  evidence  that  they 
invaded  Judah.  Now,  however,  there  was  the  prospect  of 
the  domination  of  a  more  powerful  nation,  namely,  Chaldea. 
Accordingly,  in  the  fourth  year  of  Jehoiakim  (about  604- 


The  Messiah  and  Politics  209 

603  B.  c.),  Jeremiah  directed  his  disciple,  Baruch,  to  write 
down  a  number  of  prophecies  which  he  had  composed  since 
the  beginning  of  his  ministry  in  626,  with  the  object  of 
showing  that  the  judgment  then  threatened  had  been  merely 
postponed  and  not  averted."  The  first  reference  to  the  mes- 
sianic age  probably  dates  from  the  period  of  the  ruin  of  the 
kingdom  which  was  consequent  upon  the  capture  of  Zede- 
kiah.  It  was  in  the  later  religious  gathering  at  Shechem  that 
national  sentiment  was  greatly  stimulated.  [Israel,  Hast- 
ings' E.R.E.,  VII.  See  Zech.,  iii,  8  and  vi,  12.] 

The  second  century  B.  c.  furnishes  another  excellent  in- 
stance of  the  relation  between  politics  and  religion.  The 
Maccabaean  war  was,  in  its  inception,  purely  a  religious 
affair.  The  Jews  took  up  arms  against  the  Syrians  to  de- 
fend the  Law,  which  had  been  greatly  endangered  by  the 
persecutions  of  Antiochus  IV  Epiphanes.  This  explains  the 
participation  in  the  revolt  of  that  rigidly  and  exclusively 
religious  party,  the  Hasidaeans.  When,  in  165,  Judas  Mac- 
cabaeus  purified  the  temple  defiled  by  Antiochus  Epiphanes, 
and  restored  the  Jewish  religion,  the  aims  which  inspired  the 
war  were  accomplished.  The  treaty  of  Lysias  (162)  en- 
sured the  religious  liberty  of  the  Jews.  The  Hasidaeans, 
having  attained  their  object,  refrained  from  further  partici- 
pation in  the  war,  the  political  aims  being  secured  through 
the  continued  prosecution  of  the  war  by  the  Maccabaeans. 
[Hasidaeans,  Hastings*  E.R.E.,  VI,  526.  Judaism,  Ib., 
VII,  586-7.  Israel,  Ib.,  456.] 

Had  all  the  Jews  in  later  Roman  days  accepted  one  leader, 
instead  of  dissipating  their  energies  by  following  now  this, 
now  that,  Messiah,  the  political  consequences  might  well 
have  been  very  formidable.  "  Had  the  Jews  under  Vespasian 
acted  with  the  same  united  energy  as  in  the  revolt  under 
Hadrian,  the  struggle  would  have  been  a  formidable  one; 
and  their  Messiah  might  perhaps  have  been  for  imperial 
what  Hannibal  was  for  consular  Rome."  [J.  H.  Allen, 
op.  cit.,  421.  As  Israel  Cohen  (op.  cit.)  has  conclusively 
shown,  disintegration  of  the  faith,  separation  into  ever- 
widening  sects  and  creeds,  is  breaking  up  the  racial  integrity 
of  the  Jews  and  making  the  prospect  of  a  revived  Jewish  na- 


£10  Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

tion   correspondingly   more   remote.     "  Since   the   dawn   of 
emancipation  a  change  has  come  over  Jewry."] 

David  el-David,  the  Persian  Messiah  who  operated  in  the 
last  years  of  the  twelfth  century,  raised  an  army  against 
the  king,  though  he  was  defeated  and  beheaded,  vast  num- 
bers of  Jews  suffering  a  similar  fate  for  the  part  they  had 
taken  in  the  rebellion.  [See  art.  Messiah,  in  Cyclopaedia  of 
BibL,  Theol.,  and  Eccl.  Lit.,  Vol.  VI.]  As  we  have  seen  in 
the  account  given  of  various  Jewish  Messiahs,  many,  if  not 
most  of  them,  were  implicated  in  political  movements. 

Mohammedanism.     A:  Africa  and  Arabia 

As  early  as  the  seventh  century  A.  D.,  Abd  el  Melik  found 
himself  involved  in  a  war  with  the  followers  of  Solman. 
These  were  under  the  command  of  a  daring  leader  by  name 
of  Moktar  who  claimed  to  be  a  lieutenant  of  the  Mahdi  prom- 
ised by  the  Prophet.  The  Mahdi  referred  to  was  the  son  of 
Ali  by  another  wife  than  Fatima,  and,  at  that  time  was  living 
in  retirement  at  Mecca. 

Ibn  Tumart,  of  whom  an  account  has  already  been  given, 
imbued  the  surrounding  tribes  with  an  intense  devotion  to 
his  sanctity,  while,  by  the  compilation  of  several  important 
works  in  their  own  tongue  —  notably  the  Murshidah,  "  Di- 
rectress "  or  "  Guide,"  and  the  Tanhid  or  "  Unity," —  he 
impressed  them  with  his  learning  and  thus  added  to  their 
admiration.  At  last  his  followers  came  to  blows  with  the 
imperial  troops,  and  were  defeated.  Later,  however,  having 
gained  the  support  of  the  Masmuda  tribes  he  came  into  con- 
trol of  affairs.  He  then  devoted  himself  more  than  ever 
to  the  austerities  of  hermit  life,  leaving  political  affairs  in 
the  hands  of  his  follower,  Abd  el  Mumin.  [B.  Meaken, 
Moorish  Empire,  65-70.] 

The  movement  of  revolt  started  among  the  Berber  tribes 
of  Algeria  in  A.  D.  902  was  headed  by  a  missionary  who  gave 
himself  out  as  forerunner  of  the  Mahdi,  promised  them 
abundant  goods  of  both  worlds,  and  called  them  to  arms. 
"  Then  there  appeared  among  them  Sa'id,  the  son  of  Ahmad, 
the  son  of  Abd  Allah,  the  son  of  Maymun  the  occulist;  but 


The  Messiah  and  Politics 

* 

it  was  not  under  that  name.  He  was  now  Ubayd  Allah  al- 
Mahdi  himself,  a  descendant  of  Ali  and  of  Muhammad  ibn 
Isma'il,  for  whom  his  ancestors  were  supposed  to  have 
worked  and  built  up  this  conspiracy.  In  A.  H.  296  (A.  D. 
909)  he  was  saluted  as  Commander  of  the  Faithful,  with  the 
title  of  al-Mahdi.  So  far  the  conspiracy  had  succeeded." 
[MacDonald,  Muslim  Theology,  44-5.] 

Not  long  since,  the  head  of  the  Brotherhood  of  as-Sanusi, 
founded  in  1837  by  Mohammad  ibn  Ali  as-Sanusi,  established 
a  theocratic  state  at  Jarabub,  in  the  eastern  Sahara,  between 
Egypt  and  Tripoli.  It  has  been  predicted  that  this  order 
is  fomenting  plans  which  will  soon  take  a  political  turn. 
"  Sooner  or  later,"  says  Mr.  MacDonald,  "  Europe  —  in 
the  first  instance,  England  in  Egypt  and  France  in  Algeria 
-will  have  to  face  the  bursting  of  this  storm.  For  this 
Mahdi  is  different  from  him  of  Khartum  and  the  southern 
Sudan  in  that  he  knows  how  to  rule  and  wait;  for  years  he 
has  gathered  arms  and  ammunitions,  and  trained  men  for 
the  great  Jehad.  When  his  plans  are  ready  and  his  time 
is  come,  a  new  chapter  will  be  opened  in  the  history  of  Islam, 
a  chapter  which  will  cast  into  forgetfulness  even  the  recent 
volcanic  outburst  in  China.  It  will  then  be  for  the  Ottoman 
Sultan  of  the  time  to  show  what  he  and  his  Khalifate  are 
worth.  He  will  have  to  decide  whether  he  will  throw  in  his 
lot  with  a  Mahdi  of  the  old  Islam  and  the  dreams  of  a 
Muslim  millennium,  or  boldly  turn  to  new  things  and  carry 
the  Successorship  and  the  People  of  Muhammad  to  join  the 
civilized  world."  [Op.  cit.,  61-3.  Written  in  1903.  E. 
W.  Latimer,  Europe  in  Africa,  78.  Africa,  in  Hastings' 
E.R.E.,  I,  161.] 

Though  this  prophecy  has  not  yet  been  fulfilled,  it  was 
no  very  rash  one.  Since  the  early  centuries  of  Mohamme- 
danism Berber  leaders  have  been  wont  to  appear  in  the  guise 
and  with  the  claims  of  prophets,  men  miraculously  gifted  and 
with  a  message  from  God.  "  These  wild  tribesmen,  with  all 
their  fanaticism  for  their  own  tribal  liberties,  have  always 
been  peculiarly  accessible  to  the  genius  which  claims  its  mis- 
sion from  heaven.  So  they  had  taken  up  the  Fatimid  cause 
[in  the  fourth  century  A.  H.]  and  worshipped  Ubayd  Allah, 


212  Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

the  Mahdi.  And  so  they  continued  thereafter,  and  still 
continue  to  be  swayed  by  saints,  darwishes,  and  prophets 
of  all  degrees  of  insanity  and  cunning.  As  time  went  on, 
there  came  a  change  in  these  prophet-led  risings  and  saint- 
founded  states.  They  gradually  slipped  over  from  being 
frankly  anti-Muhammadan,  to  being  equally  frankly  Muslim. 
The  theology  of  Islam  easily  afforded  them  the  necessary 
point  of  connection.  All  that  the  prophet  of  the  day  need 
do  was  to  claim  the  position  of  the  Mahdi,  that  Guided  One, 
who  according  to  the  tradition  of  Muhammad  was  to  come 
before  the  last  day,  when  the  earth  shall  be  filled  with  vio- 
lence, and  to  fill  it  again  with  righteousness.  It  was  easy 
for  each  new  Mahdi  to  select  from  the  vast  and  contradic- 
tory mass  of  traditions  in  Muslim  eschatology  those  which 
best  fitted  his  person  and  his  time." 

The  political  danger  in  Algiers  and  Morocco  of  these 
Mohammedan  sects  with  their  inspired  and  inspiring  leaders 
has  been  recognized  by  both  French  and  English.  The  di- 
rect action  of  the  Sanusiyah  in  the  insurrections  in  Algiers 
seems  not  yet  proven,  but  "  even  though  no  overt  acts  can  be 
alleged,  yet  the  widespread  influence  of  their  teaching  and 
their  known  dislike  to  all  modern  methods  of  civilization  have 
doubtless  been  very  powerful  factors  in  leading  others  on  in 
the  way  of  more  active  and  pronounced  opposition,  and  their 
Zawiyahs  have  always  been  open  to  rebellion."  This  is  not 
surprising.  The  motto  of  the  order  is :  "  The  Turks  and 
the  Christians  are  in  the  same  category :  we  will  destroy  them 
both  at  the  same  time."  The  Sanusiyah  is  the  most  irrecon- 
cilable enemy  of  the  French,  and  reflects  the  growing  discon- 
tent in  the  Muslim  world  over  the  increasing  occupation  by 
Christians  of  lands  till  lately  open  to  the  followers  of  Islam. 
[Sell,  Essays  on  Islam,  Ch.  on  Religious  Orders.  Frisch,  Le 
Maroc,  190.  Castries,  Ulslam,  238.  Meakin,  The  Moor- 
ish Empire,  198.  Duveyrier,  La  Confrerie  Musulmane,  14. 
Silva  White,  From  SpUnx  to  Oracle,  27,  124.] 

In  1910  warning  was  again  given  of  the  danger  to  Euro- 
pean interests  involved  in  the  religio-political  organization 
of  the  Senoussi  of  North  Africa.  The  Senoussi  was  a  great 
religious  chief  who  held  court  in  the  Hinterland  of  Tunis. 


The  Messiah  and  Politics  213 

The  slaves  in  particular  accepted  the  new  faith  with  avidity 
for  it  promised  them  a  new  dignity  as  well  as  a  doorway  to 
freedom.  "  If  the  Senoussi  gave  the  signal,  hundreds  of 
thousands  of  brave  swordsmen  and  rifle-bearers  would  pre- 
cipitate themselves  upon  the  Europeans  and  the  Turks  who, 
between  them,  held  North  Africa."  [The  Spectator,  March 
10,  1910.]  The  Moorish  Pretender  has  indeed  been  just 
such  a  dangerous  character  as  was  prophesied.  [He  is  de- 
scribed by  A.  J.  Dawson,  Things  Seen  in  Morocco.  New  York, 
1904.] 

After  Italy  joined  the  Entente  nations  in  May,  1915,  the 
order  assumed  a  more  and  more  unfriendly  attitude  toward 
them  and  an  increasingly  friendly  attitude  toward  their 
enemy  Turkey.  [Senussi,  in  New  Inter.  Ency.  (1916),  XX, 
708,  and  in  Ency.  Britt.,  XXIV,  649-51.] 

A  man  by  the  name  of  Mokrani,  claiming  to  be  the  Mahdi, 
raised  an  insurrection  in  1870.  Many  similar  insurrections 
directed  against  the  invaders,  followed  the  French  occupation 
of  Tunisia  in  1881.  [Revue  Tunisienne,  IX  (1902),  205.] 
At  least  one  writer  has  recognized  the  political  importance 
of  Mahdiism  in  Abyssinia  and  has  sounded  a  note  of  warning. 
[A.  B.  Wylde,  Modern  Abyssinia,  11,  71.  London,  1901.] 

The  Alids  inspired  the  people  with  the  idea  that  the  Mahdi 
would  come  from  the  house  of  Ali.  His  word  was  truth  and 
to  him  explicit  obedience  was  due.  Further  political  moves 
linked  them  by  still  stronger  bonds  to  the  cause  of  the  Mahdi, 
without  whose  success  they  could  never  be  recompensed  for 
the  great  sacrifices  made  to  the  cause.  In  A.  H.  270,  when 
the  government  attempted  to  apprehend  a  man  whom  they 
considered  dangerous,  a  certain  Abdallah  ibn  Maimun  al- 
Qaddah,  he  escaped  to  Basra.  There  he  lived  for  some  time 
in  hiding.  Later  his  grandson,  Ubaidallah,  went  to  northern 
Syria  and  thence  to  Egypt  and  the  far  west  of  North  Africa, 
where  he  appeared  in  A.  H.  297  at  Kairwan,  as  the  Mahdi 
and  first  Khalifate  of  the  Fatimids.  Some  separated  from 
him,  refusing  to  acknowledge  him  as  the  Mahdi,  his  political 
power  being  to  that  extent  impaired.  [Art.  Carmations,  in 
Hastings'  E.R.E.,  III,  222-5 ;  see  above,  Ch.  on  The  Mahdi.] 

"  Abu-Abdallah,  the  son  of  a  lamplighter  in  the  mosque  of 


Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

his  native  village,  was  a  man  of  exceptional  ability  as  well 
as  of  unusual  training.  He  studied  in  the  best  schools  of  his 
day  —  Cordova,  Bagdad,  and  Cairo,  where  he  displayed 
great  aptitude  as  well  as  great  zeal.  After  the  completion 
of  his  education  he  returned  to  his  home  among  the  tribesmen 
of  Masmoudah  in  the  country  of  Sus.  His  travels  and  his 
studies,  directed  by  a  keen  and  vigorous  intellect,  had  given 
him  a  profound  insight  into  human  nature,  while  the  supe- 
riority of  his  literary  attainments  obtained  for  him  the  great- 
est respect  from  the  simple  and  ignorant  shepherds  among 
whom  his  lot  was  cast.  From  the  day  of  his  return,  he  af- 
fected an  air  of  mystery  well  calculated  to  impose  upon  a 
credulous  and  highly  imaginative  people.  He  assumed  the 
title  of  Al-Mahdi,  or  The  Leader,  a  word  synonymous  with 
Messiah,  a  personage  whose  advent  has  been  predicted  by  the 
founders  of  almost  every  sect  of  Oriental  origin.  He  de- 
claimed with  audacity  and  eloquence  against  the  sins  of  the 
degenerate  Moslems.  In  common  with  all  reformers  whose 
success  demands  a  real  or  apparent  exhibition  of  sanctit}^, 
his  life  afforded  an  edifying  example  of  self-denial  and  of  the 
practice  of  the  most  austere  virtue.  His  garments  were 
scanty  and  of  the  coarsest  materials.  His  sole  possessions 
consisted  of  a  staff  and  a  leathern  bottle.  Subsisting  upon 
alms,  and  sleeping  in  the  court-yards  of  the  mosques,  where, 
during  the  day,  with  impassioned  oratory,  he  exhorted  the 
wayward  to  repentance,  he  did  not  remain  long  in  solitude. 
Crowds  gathered  to  participate  in  his  devotions  and  to  enjoy 
the  benefit  of  his  prayers.  The  erratic  genius  of  the  Berber, 
impressed  with  an  exhibition  so  congenial  with  its  nature  and 
actuated  by  the  love  of  novelty,  soon  recognized  in  the  holy 
man  a  guide  whose  inspiration  was  directly  derived  from 
heaven.  Among  the  first  of  his  disciples  was  a  youth  of  dis- 
tinguished lineage  and  unusual  personal  attractions,  named 
Abd-al-Mumen,  whom  the  Mahdi,  as  he  was  now  universally 
called,  selected  as  his  councillor,  and  whose  talents  for  war 
and  executive  ability,  as  soon  became  evident,  were  superior 
to  those  of  any  individual  of  his  time.  Accompanied  by  a 
small  band  of  followers,  the  Mahdi  advanced  by  easy  stages 
to  Morocco,  the  depravity  of  whose  citizens  he  constantly 


The  Messiah  and  Politics  215 

represented  as  worthy  of  the  severest  punishment  that  could 
be  inflicted  by  the  wrath  of  an  outraged  Deity. 

"  The  first  public  act  of  the  Mahdi  after  his  arrival  was 
one  whose  unparalleled  audacity  was  admirably  calculated 
to  establish  the  sacredness  of  his  pretended  mission  as  far 
as  the  most  distant  frontiers  of  the  empire.  On  one  of  the 
Fridays  of  the  festival  of  Ramadhan,  a  great  concourse  had 
assembled  in  the  principal  mosque  of  the  capital  to  await  the 
coming  of  the  Sultan.  Before  the  royal  cortege  appeared, 
an  emaciated  figure,  meanly  clad  and  intoning  in  deep  and 
solemn  accents  verses  from  the  Koran,  strode  through  the 
assemblage  and  seated  himself,  without  ceremony,  on  the 
throne.  The  remonstrances  of  the  attendants  of  the  mosque 
produced  no  effect  on  the  intruder,  and  even  at  the  approach 
of  Ali  himself  he  retained  his  seat,  while  the  entire  congre- 
gation rose  and  stood  reverently  in  the  presence  of  their 
monarch.  In  the  mind  of  devout  Moslems,  mental  eccen- 
tricity and  insanity  are  not  infrequently  considered  evi- 
dences of  divine  inspiration ;  the  most  outrageous  denunci- 
ations are  received  with  humility  by  the  greatest  potentates ; 
and,  encouraged  by  impunity,  the  dervish  and  the  saint,  sure 
of  the  toleration  of  the  sovereign  and  the  applause  of  the 
multitude,  do  not  hesitate  to  violate  every  feeling  of  decency 
and  reverence  in  the  prosecution  of  their  schemes  of  impos- 
ture. The  existence  of  this  superstitious  prejudice  pre- 
vented the  molestation  of  the  Mahdi,  whose  reputation  had 
preceded  him,  but  whose  person  was  as  yet  unknown  to  the 
inhabitants  of  Morocco.  Not  content  with  usurping  his 
place,  the  audacious  reformer  even  ventured,  in  scathing 
terms,  to  reprove  the  Sultan  in  the  presence  of  the  assembly, 
and  warned  him  that  if  he  did  not  correct  the  faults  of  his 
government  and  the  vices  of  his  subjects  he  would  be  speedily 
called  upon  to  render  an  account  of  his  neglect  to  God.  The 
amazement  and  consternation  of  the  Prince  were  only  ex- 
ceeded by  the  apprehensions  of  the  people,  who  awaited,  with 
equal  anxiety,  the  accomplishment  of  a  miracle  or  the  out- 
break of  a  revolution. 

"  From  that  day  the  religious  authority  of  the  Mahdi  was 
established  throughout  the  African  dominions  of  Ali.     His 


£16  Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

audiences  were  numbered  by  the  thousands.  Proselytes  in 
vast  multitudes  assented  to  his  doctrines,  and  his  movements 
began  to  seriously  occupy  the  attention  of  the  government, 
whose  officials  saw  with  unconcealed  dread  his  fast-increas- 
ing popularity  and  the  effect  which  his  harangues  and  his 
ostentatious  asceticism  were  producing  upon  the  capricious 
and  easily  deluded  masses.  He  was  examined  by  the  minis- 
ters, some  of  whom  advised  his  immediate  execution,  but,  as 
he  had  hitherto  confined  himself  to  religious  exhortations  and 
had  asserted  no  pretensions  to  the  exercise  of  temporal 
sovereignty,  the  impolitic  clemency  of  Ali,  unmindful  of  the 
similar  circumstances  which  had  attended  the  elevation  of  his 
own  family  to  power,  dismissed,  unharmed,  the  most  danger- 
ous enemy  of  his  life  and  his  throne.  The  lesson  he  had 
just  been  taught  was  not  lost  on  the  wary  impostor,  who,  of 
all  distinctions,  coveted  least  the  honors  of  martyrdom.  He 
left  the  capital  and  repaired  to  Fez,  where  for  a  considerable 
period  he  kept  himself  in  seclusion,  but,  through  his  devoted 
emissaries,  still  retaining  and  indeed  increasing  his  influence 
over  the  ignorant  populace,  deeply  impressed  with  the  mys- 
tery that  surrounded  his  movements  as  well  as  with  the  oracu- 
lar messages  with  which  he  nourished  the  curiosity  and  stimu- 
lated the  expectations  of  his  followers.  At  length,  without 
warning,  he  reappeared  in  the  streets  of  Morocco.  The  en- 
thusiastic welcome  he  received  made  it  apparent  that  his 
popularity  had  been  in  no  respect  diminished  during  his  ab- 
sence. His  insolence  and  his  extravagance  now  became  more 
offensive  than  ever.  He  denounced,  in  epithets  conveying  the 
greatest  opprobrium,  the  public  and  private  conduct  of  the 
monarch  and  his  court.  Assisted  by  his  disciples,  he  seized 
the  wine  vessels  in  the  bazaars  and  emptied  their  contents 
into  the  streets.  The  sight  of  a  musical  instrument  roused 
him  to  fury  and  was  the  signal  for  its  destruction,  as  well  as 
for  the  maltreatment  of  its  owner.  His  piety  could  not 
tolerate  even  the  songs  of  mirth,  and  those  who  presumed  to 
enjoy  this  harmless  amusement  in  his  hearing  were  speedily 
silenced  with  a  shower  of  blows.  The  climax  of  impudence 
and  outrage  was  attained  when  the  Mahdi,  having  one  day 
encountered  in  one  of  the  public  thoroughfares  of  the  capi- 


The  Messiah  and  Politics 

tal  the  sister  of  All,  who,  in  compliance  with  the  prevalent 
custom  of  the  Moorish  ladies  of  Africa  and  Spain,  had  dis- 
carded the  veil,  roundly  abused  her  for  this  violation  of  the 
injunctions  of  the  Prophet  and  ended  by  precipitating  her 
from  her  saddle  into  the  gutter,  to  the  horror  and  consterna- 
tion of  her  numerous  retinue.  An  offence  of  this  flagrant 
character  committed  by  one  unprotected  by  the  influence  of 
the  grossest  superstition  would,  under  Oriental  law,  have  been 
instantly  punishable  with  death.  But  the  reverence  enter- 
tained for  the  sacred  profession  of  culprit,  the  general  sus- 
picion of  his  want  of  responsibility,  and  a  fatal  indifference 
to  his  rapidly  increasing  power  suggested  the  imposition  of 
an  insignificant  penalty,  and  the  bold  and  reckless  innovator 
was  banished  from  the  city.  In  obedience  to  the  letter,  if  not 
to  the  spirit  of  his  sentence,  he  betook  himself  to  a  neighbor- 
ing cemetery,  erected  there  a  miserable  hovel,  and  surrounded 
by  the  significant  memorials  of  the  dead,  began  anew  his 
prophecies  of  impending  evil  and  his  declamations  against 
the  vice  and  corruption  of  the  dignitaries  of  the  empire. 
The  leniency  with  which  his  offences  had  been  treated  by  the 
authorities  was  distorted  by  fear  and  fanaticism  into  perse- 
cution and  injustice,  and  the  violator  of  law  was  at  once 
exalted  into  a  martyr.  The  passions  of  the  ignorant  were 
then  artfully  aroused  by  the  representations  that  the  life 
of  their  leader  was  threatened,  and  a  body-guard  of  fifteen 
hundred  well-armed  soldiers  was  organized  to  watch  con- 
stantly over  the  safety  of  the  self-styled  Messenger  of  God. 
The  Sultan  now  began  to  realize,  when  too  late,  the  results 
of  his  ill-timed  indulgence.  He  sent  a  peremptory  order 
for  the  Mahdi  to  leave  the  vicinity  of  the  capital.  The  lat- 
ter, alleging  that  he  had  already  complied  with  the  directions 
of  his  sovereign  as  indicated  by  the  sentence  of  his  banish- 
ment, and  feeling  secure  in  the  midst  of  his  devoted  adherents, 
at  first  declined  to  abandon  his  position ;  but,  on  hearing  that 
measures  were  already  taken  for  his  assassination,  he  fled  in 
haste  to  the  distant  town  of  Tinamal,  where  he  had  disclosed 
his  pretended  mission. 

"  Of  all  the  prophets  and  reformers,  the  progenitors  of 
dynasties,  the  conquerors  of  kingdoms,  the  restorers  of  the 


218  Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

Faith,  which  from  its  origin  have  appeared  in  the  domain 
of  Islam,  none  possess  a  greater  claim  to  distinction  than 
Abu-Abdallah,  surnamed  the  Mahdi,  the  founder  of  the  sect 
of  the  Almohades.  Without  the  commanding  genius  and 
originality  of  Mohammed,  he  equalled  that  remarkable  per- 
sonage in  keenness  of  perception  and  energy  of  character, 
and  far  surpassed  him  in  education,  in  eloquence,  in  practical 
acquaintance  with  the  foibles  and  the  prejudices  of  human- 
ity. The  suggestive  examples  of  his  predecessors,  who  had 
attained  to  supreme  power  through  pretensions  to  inspira- 
tion and  martial  achievements,  incited  him  to  establish  for 
himself  a  political  and  religious  empire.  With  more  of  the 
charlatan  and  less  of  the  soldier  in  his  mental  composition 
than  had  characterized  many  reformers,  he  retained  to  the 
last  his  retiring  asceticism,  but  in  case  of  emergency  he  did 
not  hesitate  to  boldly  risk  his  life  on  the  field  of  battle.  No 
scholar  was  better  versed  than  he  in  the  literature  and  sci- 
ence of  his  age.  His  sagacity  was  proof  against  the  insinu- 
ating arts  of  the  most  accomplished  negotiator.  In  the 
prosecution  of  his  ambitious  projects  he  never  considered  the 
comfort  or  the  safety  of  his  followers ;  in  the  exaction  of  his 
vengeance  every  sentiment  of  pity  and  indulgence  was  ruth- 
lessly cast  aside.  His  influence  over  his  disciples  was  main- 
tained by  appeals  to  superstition  and  by  arts  of  imposture 
congenial  with  the  temperament  of  the  ignorant  and  the 
credulous.  To  conceal  these  frauds,  the  wretched  instru- 
ments by  whom  they  had  been  effected  were  promptly  put  to 
death.  Such  persons  as  were  so  unfortunate  as  to  incur  the 
enmity  of  the  false  Prophet  were  buried  alive.  Such  was  the 
extent  of  his  power  over  the  masses,  that  the  crimes  perpe- 
trated by  his  orders  or  with  his  sanction  were  regarded  in 
the  light  of  virtues ;  that  his  spurious  claims  to  divinity  were 
accepted  by  entire  nations  who  revered  him  even  more  than 
his  great  prototype  Mohammed,  and  who  demonstrated  their 
enduring  faith  in  his  mission  by  raising  his  friend  and  suc- 
cessor, to  whom  his  authority  had  descended,  to  an  equality 
with  the  greatest  potentates  of  the  age."  [S.  P.  Scott, 
History  of  the  Moorish  Empire  in  Europe,  II,  24?9-54,  259- 
60.  London,  1904.] 


The  Messiah  and  Politics  219 

There,  in  the  mosque,  he  [Abu- Abel  all  ah]  first  openly  an- 
nounced his  claim  to  temporal  power.  A  sympathetic  audi- 
ence was  excited  to  frenzy  by  his  mysterious  predictions  and 
his  fervid  eloquence ;  his  claim  to  universal  dominion  as  the 
Champion  of  the  Faith  and  the  restorer  of  the  purity  of 
Islam  was  received  with  vociferous  applause  by  the  multi- 
tude, and  in  the  midst  of  the  turmoil  Abd-al-Mumen  and  ten 
of  his  companions,  rising  and  drawing  their  swords,  swore 
eternal  fealty  to  their  leader.  Their  example  was  followed 
by  the  entire  congregation;  and  thus,  a  second  time,  in  the 
centre  of  the  Sahara  was  inaugurated  a  Mohammedan  refor- 
mation the  precursor  of  a  gigantic  but  unsubstantial  and 
impermanent  empire.  This  decisive  step  had  no  sooner  been 
taken  than  the  Mahdi  proceeded  to  organize  his  government 
by  the  appointment  of  civil  and  military  officials.  Abd-al- 
Mumen  was  made  vizier;  the  ten  proselytes  who  had  sworn 
allegiance  in  the  mosque  were  united  in  a  Supreme  Council ; 
and  the  subordinate  bodies,  composed  respectively  of  fifty 
and  seventy  disciples,  were  charged  with  the  management  of 
affairs  of  inferior  moment ;  the  result  of  their  deliberations 
being  subject  to  the  approval  or  rejection  of  the  Mahdi 
himself.  The  revolutionists,  whose  numbers,  daily  recruited 
by  accessions  from  the  martial  tribes  of  the  Desert  had  now 
become  formidable,  assumed  the  name  of  Almohades,  or  Uni- 
tarians, not  only  to  distinguish  them  from  the  Christians, 
whose  trinitarian  dogma  and  adoration  of  images  caused 
them  to  be  designated  by  all  Moslems  as  idolaters,  but  to 
indicate  as  well  a  return  to  the  original  simplicity  of  Islam, 
long  corrupted  by  the  heterodox  practices  and  dissolute  man- 
ners of  their  Almoravide  rivals.  A  strange  and  mysterious 
fatality  seemed  to  attach  to  the  fortunes  of  the  latter  in 
every  field  where  they  encountered  the  armies  of  the  newly 
arisen  Prophet.  In  four  successive  engagements  the  soldiers 
of  Ali,  seized  with  a  panic  in  the  presence  of  the  enemy, 
yielded  to  the  attack  of  the  Berber  cavalry ;  their  standards 
and  baggage  were  taken,  and  thousands  of  fugitives,  butch- 
ered in  headlong  flight,  expiated  with  the  loss  of  life  and 
honor  their  effeminacy  and  their  cowardice. 

"  The  opinion  generally  prevalent  in  the  minds  of  the  illit- 


Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

erate,  that  military  success  is  an  infallible  criterion  of  reli- 
gious truth,  began  to  produce  its  effect  on  the  Almoravides. 
The  terror  experienced  by  them  at  the  sight  of  the  enemy  - 
really  due  to  relaxation  of  discipline  and  apprehension  of 
the  miraculous  powers  of  an  audacious  charlatan  —  was 
universally  attributed  to  supernatural  influence.  The  mis- 
sion of  the  Mahdi  required  no  further  demonstration  of  its 
divine  origin.  Henceforth  his  utterances  were  received  by 
both  friend  and  enemy  as  the  oracles  of  God.  His  credit 
daily  increased  among  the  credulous  and  passionate  inhabi- 
tants of  the  Desert.  The  Almoravide  soldiers  shrank  from 
an  encounter  with  a  foe  whose  white  standards  seemed  to  be 
invested  with  the  mystic  qualities  of  a  talisman.  The  Mahdi, 
renouncing  in  a  measure  his  character  of  affected  humility, 
now  assumed  the  pomp  of  a  sovereign.  He  surrounded  him- 
self with  a  splendidly  appointed  body-guard.  His  throne 
was  approached  by  suppliants  for  favor  with  the  debasing 
and  complicated  ceremonial  of  Oriental  despotism.  He  de- 
manded, in  arrogant  and  menacing  language,  submission  and 
tribute  from  Ali,  who,  dejected  from  repeated  misfortune, 
began  to  share  with  his  ignorant  subjects  the  awe  which  en- 
veloped the  person  and  the  attributes  of  his  triumphant  and 
formidable  adversary.  The  plans  of  the  latter  had  hereto- 
fore been  accomplished  without  an  established  base  of  oper- 
ations, the  camps  of  the  Almohades  being  moved  from  place 
to  place  over  the  drifting  sands  of  the  Desert ;  but  now,  the 
direction  of  an  army  of  twenty  thousand  men,  the  subsistence 
and  shelter  of  a  vast  multitude  of  non-combatants,  and  the 
dignity  and  power  of  a  new  and  growing  political  organiza- 
tion urgently  demanded  a  settled  habitation  and  a  recognized 
centre  of  authority.  Among  the  lofty  crags  of  a  mountain 
spur  extending  from  the  range  of  Tlemcen  to  the  Atlantic 
stood  the  village  of  Tinamal.  Its  retired  situation,  its  natu- 
ral defences,  its  proximity  to  both  the  rich  cities  of  the 
coast  and  the  fertile  regions  of  the  interior,  the  character  of 
its  people,  who  were  to  a  man  ardent  believers  in  the  mission 
of  the  Mahdi,  made  it  an  admirable  point  either  for  the  in- 
auguration of  a  conquest  or  the  institution  of  an  harassing! 
system  of  predatory  warfare.  It  was  approached  by  narrow 


The  Messiah  and  Politics 

and  tortuous  paths  which,  winding  along  the  mountain  side, 
disclosed,  on  the  one  hand,  an  inaccessible  cliff,  on  the  other, 
an  abyss  whose  depths  were  shrouded  in  perpetual  gloom. 
From  its  battlements,  almost  hidden  in  the  clouds,  the  prog- 
ress of  a  hostile  party  could  be  watched  for  miles  as,  with 
slow  and  uncertain  steps,  it  pursued  its  hazardous  way.  In 
this  mountain  fastness  the  Mahdi  fixed  his  residence  and  es- 
tablished his  capital.  The  natural  impediments  in  the  path 
of  an  invader  were  greatly  multiplied  by  the  artificial  re- 
sources of  engineering  skill.  Towers  and  fortresses  were 
raised  at  points  commanding  the  various  approaches  to  the 
mountain  stronghold.  Drawbridges  were  thrown  across 
roaring  torrents.  Walls  and  gateways  obstructed  the  pas- 
sage, where  an  insignificant  force  might  with  ease  check  the 
progress  of  a  numerous  army.  The  village  of  Tinamal  soon 
became  a  city,  whose  inhabitants,  subsisting  by  the  plunder 
of  their  neighbors,  became  the  scourge  and  the  terror  of  the 
peaceable  and  defenceless  subjects  of  Ali.  After  a  long 
sojourn  in  his  seat  of  power,  the  Mahdi  about  to  succumb 
to  a  fatal  disease,  determined  to  signalize  his  closing  days 
by  an  enterprise  worthy  of  the  pretensions  he  had  assumed 
and  of  the  success  which  had  hitherto  favored  his  undertak- 
ings. An  army  of  forty  thousand  men  was  assembled  for  the 
capture  of  Morocco.  In  a  desperate  conflict  under  the  wall 
of  that  city,  the  Almoravides,  who  outnumbered  their  oppo- 
nents two  to  one,  were  put  to  flight  and  pursued  with  terrible 
carnage  to  its  gates.  But  the  fortunes  of  the  Almohades, 
heretofore  invincible,  were  now  destined  to  receive  a  serious 
blow.  Unaccustomed  to  the  conduct  of  a  siege,  the  soldiers 
of  Abd-al-Mumen  habitually  neglected  the  precautions  which, 
in  the  presence  of  an  enemy,  are  indispensable  to  the  security 
of  a  camp.  Within  the  immense  circuit  of  the  capital  were 
marshalled  for  a  final  struggle  the  collected  resources  of  the 
empire.  Thousands  of  fugitives  from  the  recent  disastrous 
battle  had  found  asylum  behind  its  walls.  Reinforcements 
had  been  drawn  from  every  African  province  as  well  as  from 
the  diminished  Andalusian  armies,  their  own  strength  already 
sorely  taxed  by  repeated  incursions  of  the  Christian  foe. 
The  constructing  and  handling  of  military  engines  were  con- 


222  Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

fided  to  a  body  of  Byzantine  and  Sicilian  engineers  enlisted 
for  that  purpose.  The  soldiery  was  animated  by  the  pres- 
ence and  example  of  the  Sultan,  who  had  for  the  time  aban- 
doned the  Koran  for  the  sword,  and  stood  ready  to  perform 
the  part  of  a  valiant  and  resolute  commander.  The  citizens, 
moved  to  desperation  by  the  approach  of  an  enemy  whose 
relentless  character  had  been  established  by  the  massacre  of 
fugitives  and  prisoners,  and  from  whose  ferocity,  aggravated 
by  prolonged  opposition,  they  could  expect  no  indulgence, 
co-operated  manfully  with  the  garrison  in  the  defence  of  their 
homes,  their  families,  their  property  and  their  king.  The 
first  sallies  of  the  Almoravides,  conducted  by  leaders  trained 
to  partisan  encounters  in  the  wars  of  Spain,  were  signally 
disastrous  to  the  besiegers.  The  latter,  suddenly  checked  in 
an  uninterrupted  career  of  victory,  were  disconcerted  and 
dismayed,  and  their  confidence  was  shaken  in  proportion  as 
the  spirits  of  their  adversaries  rose.  The  attacks  of  the 
latter  became  more  vigorous  and  determined;  a  general 
engagement  followed,  the  Almohades  were  routed  with  terrific 
slaughter,  and  it  was  only  by  the  exertion  of  strenuous  effort 
that  Abd-al-Mumen  and  a  handful  of  survivors  were  enabled 
to  escape  the  lances  of  the  Almoravide  cavalry.  The  depres- 
sion caused  by  a  single  disaster  was  more  potent  in  its  effect 
upon  the  minds  of  the  disciples  of  the  Mahdi  than  the  pres- 
tige derived  from  a  score  of  victories.  The  influence  which 
had  exercised  its  mysterious  sway  over  the  imagination  of 
all  who  had  presumed  to  dispute  the  claims  of  the  impostor 
was  perceptibly  impaired.  The  fickle  tribesmen  deserted  his 
standard  by  thousands.  But  in  the  course  of  a  few  years 
his  eloquence  and  tact  were  able  to  repair  the  losses  he  had 
sustained;  another  army  commanded  by  Abd-al-Mumen 
issued  from  the  mountains,  and  a  brilliant  victory  obtained 
over  the  followers  of  AH  retrieved  the  honor  and  credit  of 
the  Almohade  cause.  The  Mahdi  did  not  long  survive  his 
triumph.  Overcome  with  the  excitement  occasioned  by  the 
return  of  his  soldiers  with  their  array  of  spoils  and  cap- 
tives, he  died,  after  having  committed  to  the  faithful  Abd-al- 
Mumen  the  accomplishment  of  the  task  of  conquest  and  refor- 
mation which  he  had  so  successfully  begun."  [S.  P.  Scott, 


The  Messiah  and  Politics  223 

History  of  the  Moorish  Empire  in  Europe,  II,  254—9.  Lon- 
don, 1904.] 

The  Mahdist  movement  of  the  Egyptian  Sudan  was  in- 
spired mainly  by  the  political  oppression  under  which  the 
people  suffered.  The  followers  of  the  Mahdi  were  first  and 
foremost  the  Baggara  who  "  perceived  in  this  Mahdi  one  who 
could  be  used  to  shake  off  Egyptian  rule."  His  followers 
regarded  him  as  the  only  true  commander  of  the  faithful, 
endued  with  divine  power  to  conquer  the  whole  world.  He 
did,  in  fact,  liberate  the  Sudanese  from  the  extortions  of  the 
Egyptians  and,  at  the  time  of  his  death,  was  planning  an 
invasion  of  Egypt.  [Sudan,  in  Ency.  Britt.,  XXVI,  17.] 

The  Wahabis,  a  liberal  sect  of  Mohammedanism,  not  only 
sought  emancipation  from  the  shams  and  ceremonials  and 
elaborate  superstitions  of  Islam,  but  also  revolted  against 
their  political  oppressors  and  sought  to  free  themselves  from 
Turkish  tyranny.  [See  The  Bookman,  Vol.  XLV,  498.] 
The  first  rebellion  in  Andalusia  after  the  death  of  Abd-er- 
Rahman,  came,  not  from  Christians,  nor  from  any  special 
political  sect  of  Arabs  or  Berbers,  but  from  certain  devout 
sons  of  Islam,  namely,  the  theological  students  of  Cordova. 
[Stanley  Lane-Poole,  The  Moors  m  Spain,  73.  New  York, 
1898.] 

The  Moors  of  Almonacir,  Spain,  after  the  decree  of  expul- 
sion (1526),  fortified  themselves  in  a  castle  near  Saragossa 
and  placed  their  hopes  in  succor  from  Africa  in  the  prom- 
ised resurrection  of  the  Moor  Alfatimi,  who  was  to  return 
mounted  on  his  green  horse.  [H.  C.  Lea,  The  Moriscos  of 
Spain,  90.  Philadelphia,  1901.  The  belief  in  a  mounted 
Mohammedan  warrior  of  great  or  magic  power,  hidden  away 
in  some  recess  of  the  country,  to  reappear  later,  was  a  com- 
mon element  in  the  beliefs  of  the  Spanish  Moors.  Cf .  Wash- 
ington Irving,  Legends  of  the  Alhambra.  Philadelphia,  1910 ; 
and  The  Alhambra.] 

In  1609  the  Moriscos  at  Muela  de  Cortes,  Spain,  who  had 
taken  refuge  in  the  mountain  fastnesses,  at  first  demanded  a 
year  in  which  to  prepare  for  the  expatriation  ordered  and 
then,  when  these  were  carried  out,  they  revolted,  but  gave 
up  when  the  hope  that  Alfatimi,  whom  tradition  declared  had 


Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

been  concealed  under  the  mountains  since  the  days  of  King 
Jayne,  was  dissipated. 

"  Among  all  Mohammedans  religious  fanaticism  is  consid- 
ered as  the  best  safeguard  of  national  sentiment,  the  most 
effective  means  of  patriotic  exultation,  and  the  strongest 
weapon  of  resistance  to  foreign  aggression.  That,"  writes 
Ameen  Rihani,  "  is  why  the  new  kingdom  of  Arabia  is  based 
foremost  on  the  claims  and  sanctions  of  Islam."  [The  Revo- 
lution in  Arabia,  The  Bookman,  July,  1917,  Vol.  XLV.] 

Rihani  has  characterized  the  Arabian  revolution  of  1917 
as  of  purely  religious  nature  in  origin.  The  proclamation 
of  the  Grand  Sherif  and  of  the  Ulema  of  Mecca  quote  the 
Koran  in  justification  of  the  revolution  and  call  upon  the 
Arabs  to  arise  and  re-establish  a  pure  State  of  Islam  in 
accordance  with  the  Sunnah  and  the  Sacred  Traditions  of  the 
Prophet.  "  The  new  kingdom  of  Arabia,"  in  the  words  of 
the  proclamation,  "  has  the  sanction  in  the  book  of  Allah  and 
is  destined  to  revive  the  glory  and  the  pristine  purity  of  the 
Faith."  "  And  so,"  remarks  Rihani,  "  Sherif  Hussein, 
mainly  by  virtue  of  his  religious  office,  was  the  chosen  leader." 

India 

The  fact  that  most  of  the  Hindu  efforts  at  reform  have 
originated  during  the  past  few  years  is  taken  by  some  as 
indicative  of  the  influence  of  Christianity.  [For  example, 
by  Pratt,  India  and  Its  Faiths,  166.  London,  1915.]  But 
the  political  aspirations  have  played  such  a  dominant  role 
that  Christianity  can  be  given  only  partial  credit  for  them, 
and  perhaps  a  minor  credit.  Though  these  politico-religious 
movements  in  India  have  been  largely  inspired  by  Hindus, 
Sir  Valentine  Chirol  goes  too  far  when  he  asks  us  to  believe 
that  they  have  been  confined  to  Hindus.  The  evidence  abun- 
dantly disproves  his  statement  that  "  not  a  single  Mohamme- 
dan of  any  account  is  to  be  found  in  the  ranks  of  disaffected 
politicians."  [Indian  Unrest,  5.  London,  1910.] 

As  a  Hindu  paper,  the  Dharma  of  Calcutta,  said  when 
discussing  Indian  Unrest,  "  politics  is  part  of  religion,  but 
it  has  to  be  cultivated  in  an  Aryan  way  in  accordance  with 


The  Messiah  and  Politics  £25 

the  precepts  of  the  Aryan  religion."  Kartiki,  the  god  who 
is  the  chief  commander  of  the  armies  of  the  gods,  has  come 
into  the  fray.  "  He  is  coming  forward  with  his  bow  to  as- 
sist you  against  the  demons  of  sin,  who  stand  in  the  way  of 
your  accomplishing  that  great  object,  and  as  he  is  up  in 
arms,  who  can  resist?  " 

The  first  attack  of  the  Hindu  against  the  British  was 
inspired  by  zeal  to  offset  the  teaching  of  the  Christian  mis- 
sionaries, beginning  with  a  campaign,  inaugurated  in  1887 
by  the  Hindu  Tract  Society  of  Madras,  designed  to  influ- 
ence the  loyal  Hindus  against  the  missionaries.  With  few 
exceptions,  "  wherever  political  agitation  assumes  the  most 
virulent  character,  there  the  Hindu  revival  also  assumes  the 
most  extravagant  shapes."  Well  may  the  Brahman  exclaim: 
"  If  Mother  India,  though  reduced  to  a  mere  skeleton  by  the 
oppression  of  alien  rulers  during  hundreds  of  years,  still  pre- 
serves her  vitality,  it  is  because  the  Brahmans  have  never 
relaxed  in  their  devotion  to  her."  In  recent  years 
Brahmans  have  figured  prominently,  not  only  in  the  social 
and  religious  revivals  of  India,  but  also  in  the  political  move- 
ments that  have  been  their  almost  invariant  accompaniment. 
[Ib.,  Ch.  II  to  IV.] 

These  agitations  have  by  no  means  been  confined  to  the 
Hindus.  So  strong  has  been  the  political  power  of  the  Mo- 
hammedan priests  in  the  Punjab  that  one  disgruntled  Eng- 
lishman declared  they  have  contributed  nothing  to  the  com- 
mon stock  but  inflammatory  counsel  and  "  a  fanatical  yell 
in  the  rear  of  the  battle."  [H.  B.  Edwards,  A  Year  on  the 
Punjab  Frontier  in  1848-9,  I,  89-90.  London,  1851.]  The 
great  tribal  upheaval  that  occurred  in  the  Malakand  in 
1897  was  due  to  the  priesthood  of  the  Afghan  border,  who 
realized  that  the  influence  of  civilization  was  detrimental  to 
the  Mohammedan  religion,  "  A  great  day  for  their  race  and 
faith  was  at  hand.  Presently  the  moment  would  arrive. 
They  must  watch  and  be  ready.  The  mountains  became  as 
full  of  explosives  as  a  magazine,"  and  the  Mad  Mullah,  whose 
exploits  we  have  depicted  elsewhere,  precipitated  the  conflict. 
[W.  L.  S.  Churchill,  The  Story  of  the  Malakand  Field  Force, 
Ch.  III.  London,  1898.] 


Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

In  India  the  sixteenth  century  was  a  period  of  political 
depression  and  of  the  decay  of  religious  zeal.  The  wicked- 
ness which  prevailed  was  attributed  to  the  worldliness  of  the 
Ulama.  These  Ulama  combined  the  functions  of  judge, 
magistrate,  lawyer,  and  divine.  When  the  cry  had  been 
raised  against  these  functionaries,  "  every  man  with  a  griev- 
ance, every  man  smarting  under  injustice,  was  ready  to  join 
in  the  chorus.  Meantime  earnest  men  were  preaching  that 
the  Lord  of  the  period  was  about  to  appear.  They  formed 
brotherhoods  holding  property  in  common.  They  aban- 
doned their  ordinary  avocations,  and  lived  on  charity.  They 
met  together  every  day  to  rant  and  pray.  They  devoted 
themselves,  heart  and  soul,  to  converting  backsliders  and 
preparing  the  world  for  Mahdi.  The  natural  result  fol- 
lowed. False  Mahdis  appeared  in  all  directions,  surrounded 
by  crack-brained  disciples.  .  .  .  The  fanaticism  was  not 
confined  to  the  lower  order.  .  .  .  Many  men  of  distinguished 
learning  caught  the  infection."  [J.  Talboys  Wheeler,  His- 
tory of  India  under  Mussulman  Rule,  Vol.  IV,  P't.  I.] 

Perhaps  nowhere  in  the  world,  unless  it  be  in  Arabia  and 
in  Northern  Africa,  have  political  movements  been  so  vitally 
a  part  of  religion  as  in  India.  The  war  of  1857  had  its 
inception  in  a  religious  offence  given,  or  believed  to  have 
been  given,  to  the  Hindu  and  Mohammedan  troops  by  doling 
out  to  them  the  greased  bullets  which  their  religion  would 
not  allow  them  to  put  into  the  mouth.  (This  was  in  the 
days  when  the  soldier  had  to  bite  his  cartridges.)  The 
Wahabi  movement,  at  one  time  threatening  to  involve  India 
in  a  severe  frontier  war,  was  outspokenly  religious,  a  crusade 
against  the  infidels.  The  recent  convulsion  in  Bengal  was 
similarly  stimulated,  the  bomb  being  carried  in  one  hand, 
and  their  bible,  the  Bhagavad  Gita,  in  the  other.  In  remote 
times  it  was  by  rousing  the  religious  zeal  of  the  people  that 
Sivaji  succeeded  in  founding  an  empire. 

It  was  a  "  Mad  Mullah,"  an  inspired  religious  zealot,  who 
led  the  attack  against  the  British  in  the  Malakand  in  18*95. 
This  fanatic  had  been  inspired  to  preach  a  Jehad,  or  Holy 
War,  against  the  unbelievers.  The  derision  with  which  he 
was  at  first  received  by  the  people  changed  to  awe  and  ad- 


The  Messiah  and  Politics  227 

miration  when  they  saw  him  boldly  pushing  forward  with 
his  meagre  retinue  against  a  powerful  enemy.  He  affected 
independence  of  all  earthly  assistance,  placing  his  sole  reli- 
ance on  the  Heavenly  Hosts  who  were  fighting  on  his  side. 
The  boldness  of  his  advance  fired  the  latent  fanaticism  of  the 
people  and  a  wave  of  religious  enthusiasm  overcame  every 
prejudice.  Young  men  and  old  women,  and  even  children, 
flocked  to  the  standard  of  the  leader  under  whose  direction 
they  were  to  gain  rich  loot  in  this  world  or  attain  Paradise 
in  the  next.  The  fanatics  fought  bravely  for  eight  days, 
fully  entitling  those  that  fell  to  any  reward  that  such  a 
death  may  bring.  [Viscount  Fincastle  and  P.  C.  Eliott- 
Lockhardt,  A  Frontier  Campaign,  28—9.  G.  C.  Narang, 
Transition  of  Sikhism  Into  a  Political  Organization,  1-3. 
Lahore,  India,  1910.  H.  L.  Nevill,  Campaigns  on  the  North- 
West  Frontier,  249-50.] 

Gokul  Chand  Narang.  in  a  study  of  "  The  Transition  of 
Sikhism  into  a  Political  Organization,"  has  shown,  not  only 
that  this  transition  is  real,  but  that  it  had  its  beginnings 
early  in  the  history  of  that  order  and  developed  gradually 
from  the  time  of  Gurn  Nanak,  at  the  beginning  of  the  six- 
teenth century.  Gurn  Nanak  saw  in  religious  revival  the 
only  remedy  that  could  save  the  Hindu  community  of  his  day 
from  impending  destruction.  The  condition  of  the  Hindus  in 
the  Punjab  at  that  time  was  deplorable.  Nearly  every  vest- 
ige of  their  greatness  had  disappeared.  Centuries  of  inva- 
sion, foreign  misrule,  and  persecution,  had  produced  the 
greatest  depression.  Spiritual  subjection  and  stagnation 
had  greatly  augmented  the  demoralization.  Nanak  was  the 
first  among  the  Hindus  to  raise  his  voice  against  the  tyranny 
and  oppression  which  were  the  climax  of  centuries  of  oppres- 
sion. He  leavened  Hindu  thought  throughout  the  Punjab 
by  pointing  out  the  necessity  of  linking  faith  and  hope  with 
works  and  daring.  [See  also  W.  Crooke,  in  art.  Hinduism, 
Hastings'  E.R.E.,  VI,  707.  J.  P.  Jones,  India,  Its  Life  and 
Thought,  62-6.  New  York,  1908.]  The  Sikh  community 
gradually  passed  from  a  group  of  religious  mystics  into  an 
army,  and  from  a  sect  into  a  nation.  [Pratt,  op.  cit.,  247.] 
And  yet  not  until  Sir  W.  W.  Hunter  wrote  Our  Indian 


228  Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

Mussulmans,  was  the  political  danger  accompanying  reli- 
gious revivals  recognized ! 

The  evolution  of  the  Arya  Samaj  recalls  very  forcibly  that 
of  Sikhism  —  at  first  merely  organized  religious  and  moral 
reform,  soon  developing  into  a  formidable  political  if  not  a 
formidable  military  movement.  [Sir  Valentine  Chirol,  op. 
cit.,  117.  London,  1901.  Jones,  op.  cit.,  Ch.  XIII.  Arya 
Samaj  in  Hastings'  E.R.E.,  II,  57-61.  Brahma  Samaj,  Ib., 
813-24.]  There  seems  some  foundation  for  the  statement 
credited  to  William  II,  the  present  German  Emperor  (1918), 
that  "  all  religious  movements  are  in  reality  political  move- 
ments." 

Hungry  souls,  like  hungry  stomachs,  are  prompt  to  vio- 
lence. 

It  was  when  the  ancient  political  framework  of  Indian 
society  was  undergoing  a  fundamental  change  that  we  find 
the  ideas  regarding  Gotama  and  his  mission  crystallizing 
into  new  shape.  Patriarchial  societies  developed  into  auto- 
cratic kingship.  Then  arose  the  hope  for  the  ideal  monarch, 
the  Chakka-vatti,  king  of  kings,  irresistible  and  mighty, 
who  would  rule  in  righteousness  over  a  happy  people. 
[Rhys  Davids,  Lectures,  etc.,  129-30.  Analogies  might  be 
pointed  out  in  Judaism.] 

Persia 

The  Bab  which  appeared  at  Ispahan  during  the  last  cen- 
tury, may  himself,  as  Sell  believes,  have  had  no  political 
aspirations,  and  perhaps  until  his  death  the  Babis  were  inter- 
ested mainly  in  religious  reform.  Yet  even  before  his  death 
his  followers,  in  their  despair  and  despondency,  had  turned 
upon  the  Government  —  as  has  frequently  occurred  among 
Mohammedan  sects  in  Africa  and  in  India.  However  much 
the  political  aspirations  of  the  earlier  sect  may  be  minimized, 
as,  for  example,  by  their  greatest  apologist,  Prof.  Browne, 
the  potentiality  of  political  development  is  incisively  present. 
Although  in  recent  years  this  religious  order  has  fomented 
no  political  troubles,  "  To  the  politician  the  matter  is  not 
devoid  of  importance ;  for  what  changes  may  not  be  effected 


The  Messiah  and  Politics  229 

in  a  country  now  reckoned  almost  as  a  cypher  in  the  balance 
of  national  forces  by  a  religion  capable  of  evoking  so  mighty 
a  spirit?  Let  those  who  know  what  Muhammed  made  the 
Arabs,  consider  well  what  the  Bab  may  yet  make  the  Per- 
sians." [Browne,  Episode  of  the  Bab,  lit.  IX.  Cambridge, 
1891.  Sell,  Essays  on  Islam,  72.  E.  C.  Sykes,  Persia  and 
Its  People,  36,  140-3.  A.  V.  W.  Jackson,  Persia,  Past  and- 
Present,  48-50,  376.  Art.  (by  Browne)  on  Bab,  in  Hast- 
ings' E.R.E.,  and  in  the  Ency.  Britt.] 

Although  Abbas  Effendi  recommended  abstention  from 
politics,  his  followers  were  accused  of  instigating  the  Consti- 
tutional Movement  in  Persia.  [E.  G.  Browne,  The  Persian 
Revolution  of  1905-9.  Cambridge,  1910.] 

China  and  Tibet 

Oriental  wisdom  frequently  has  a  turn  for  practical  af- 
fairs. Many  years  ago  the  Chinese  government  gave  prac- 
tical recognition  to  the  political  force  embodied  in  religious 
movements  by  requiring  that  a  register  of  all  the  incarnate 
gods  in  the  Chinese  empire  be  kept  in  the  Colonial  Office  at 
Peking.  "  The  number  of  gods  who  have  thus  far  taken 
out  a  license  is  one  hundred  and  sixty.  Tibet  is  blessed 
with  thirty  of  them,  northern  Mongolia  rejoices  in  nineteen, 
and  southern  Mongolia  basks  in  the  sunshine  of  no  less  than 
fifty-seven.  The  Chinese  government,  with  a  paternal  solici- 
tude for  the  welfare  of  its  subjects,  forbids  the  gods  on 
the  register  to  be  re-born  anywhere  but  in  Tibet.  They  fear 
lest  the  birth  of  a  god  in  Mongolia  should  have  serious  politi- 
cal consequences  by  stirring  the  dormant  patriotism  and 
warlike  spirit  of  the  Mongols,  who  might  rally  around  an  am- 
bitious native  deity  of  royal  lineage  and  seek  to  win  for 
him  at  the  point  of  the  sword,  a  temporal  as  well  as  a  spir- 
itual kingdom.  But  besides  these  public  or  licensed  gods 
there  are  a  great  many  little  private  gods,  or  unlicensed 
practitioners  of  divinity,  who  work  miracles  and  bless  their 
people  in  holes  and  corners ;  and  of  late  years  the  Chinese 
government  has  winked  at  the  rebirth  of  these  pettifogging 
deities  outside  of  Tibet.  However,  once  they  are  born,  the 


230  Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

government  keeps  an  eye  on  them  as  well  as  on  the  regular 
practitioners,  and  if  any  of  them  misbehaves  he  is  promptly 
degraded,  and  banished  to  a  distant  monastery,  and  strictly 
forbidden  ever  to  be  born  again  in  the  flesh."  [An  account 
of  this  peculiar  union  of  "  die  weltliche  Macht  mit  der 
geistlichen  Autoritat,"  will  be  found  in  Globus,  1889.  I 
have  here  adopted  the  rendering  given  by  J.  G.  Frazer  in 
The  Dying  God  (Golden  Bough  edition).] 

It  was  a  Chinese  statesman  of  the  fourth  century  B.  c. 
(Ch'u  Yuan,  332-295  B.C.),  who  declared:  "Heaven  is 
man's  Origin ;  and  when  oppressed  with  poverty  he  recalls  his 
Source.  For  when  men  are  overwrought  and  worn  out,  who 
is  there  that  does  not  cry  to  heaven?"  [God  (Chinese), 
Hastings'  E.R.E.,  VI,  274?.] 

Inasmuch  as  the  reincarnation  of  the  Dalai  Lama  opens 
the  way  for  political  intrigue,  the  Chinese  government  has 
taken  a  hand  in  the  matter  and  has  exercised  a  certain  meas- 
ure of  control  over  the  god's  reappearance  in  human  form. 
In  1793  China  prescribed  for  the  selection  of  the  divine  ruler 
the  so-called  "  oracle  of  the  urn."  By  this  lottery  scheme 
the  names  of  competing  infants  are  written  on  a  slip  of  paper 
and  put  into  a  golden  urn.  Prayer  and  other  rites  are  held 
and  the  first  name  drawn  proclaims  the  fortunate  one.  In 
1808  an  imperial  edict  gave  official  directions  for  the  work- 
ing of  the  scheme.  This  edict  has  been  engraved  on  stone 
slabs  at  the  door  of  the  great  temple  of  Lhasa,  where  it  re- 
mains to  this  day. 

In  spiritual  matters,  also,  Chinese  imperialism  seemed  to 
have  the  upper  hand  of  Dalai  Lamaism  and  to  use  this  su- 
premacy as  a  means  of  maintaining  its  political  superiority ; 
much  as,  in  the  Middle  Ages,  the  temporal  superiority  of  the 
Pope  was  vindicated  by  his  spiritual  superiority  and  the  de- 
structive power  of  his  anathemas.  On  March  31,  1877,  for 
example,  the  Peking  Gazette,  after  denouncing  a  recalcitrant 
re-incarnating  Lama  who  had  insulted  the  Imperial  Chinese 
Resident  at  Lhasa  and  carried  off  the  official  seals,  announced 
that  the  Emperor,  as  Son  of  Heaven,  had  decreed  that  the 
Lama's  soul,  in  punishment  for  this  offense,  would  not  be 
allowed  to  transmigrate  when  its  earthly  house  was  de- 


The  Messiah  and  Politics 

stroyed.      [Art.,     Incarnation      (Tibetan),     in     Hastings' 
E.R.E.,  VII,  200.     By  L.  A.  Waddell.] 

Europe 

The  Camisards,  the  Protestants  of  the  Cevennes,  whom 
the  Government  of  Louis  XIV  sought  to  convert  by  force 
of  arms,  were  greatly  fortified  in  their  resistance  by  prophe- 
cies of  speedy  deliverance,  based  on  the  Apocalypse.  In- 
fectious ecstasy  fell  upon  the  people  so  that  they  heard 
supernatural  voices  and  spoke  with  strange  tongues. 
Thanks  to  this  enthusiasm  the  little  community  was  able  for 
ten  years  to  hold  out  against  the  large  armies  sent  to  subdue 
and  destroy  them.  [Camisards,  in  Hastings'  E.R.E.,  III, 
175-6.  Some  description  of  the  times  is  contained  in  Robert 
Louis  Stephenson's  Travels  with  a  Donkey  through  the 
Cevennes,  in  the  section  on  The  Country  of  the  Camisards.] 

The  relation  in  Europe  between  the  organized  Church  and 
politics  is  a  much  described  topic  and  we  do  not  propose 
even  to  touch  upon  it  here.  Our  concern  is,  rather,  with 
political  crises  and  the  accompanying  or  consequent  reli- 
gious revival.  Nor  can  we  hope  to  do  more  than  give  a  few 
examples  of  this  association.  To  develop  the  topic  ade- 
quately would  require  a  volume  in  itself. 

In  England  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  century  was  a 
time  of  great  religious  as  of  great  political  upheaval.  The 
intimate  connection  between  the  political  and  religious  con- 
ditions was  pointed  out  by  Mooney.  "  Hatreds  were  intense 
and  persecutions  cruel  and  bitter,  until  men's  minds  gave 
way  under  the  strain.  '  The  air  was  thick  with  reports  of 
prophecies  and  miracles,  and  there  were  men  of  all  parties 
who  lived  on  the  borderland  between  sanity  and  insanity.' 
This  was  due  chiefly  to  the  long  continued  mental  tension 
which  bore  on  the  whole  population  during  this  troublous  pe- 
riod, and  in  particular  cases  to  wholesale  confiscations,  by 
which  families  were  ruined,  and  to  confinement  in  wretched 
prisons,  suffering  from  insufficient  food  and  brutal  treat- 
ment. Individuals  even  in  the  established  church  began  to 
assert  supernatural  power,  while  numerous  new  sects  sprang 
up,  with  prophecy,  miracle  working,  hypnotism,  and  con- 


Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

vulsive  ecstasy  as  part  of  their  doctrine  or  ritual,"  such  as 
the  Ranters,  the  Quakers,  and  the  Fifth  Monarchy  Men. 
[Fourteenth  An.  Rep.  Bureau  of  Ethn.,  Pt.  II,  936ff.] 

If  foes  within  the  nation  stimulate  religious  zeal,  foes 
without  that  threaten  the  whole  nation  are  all  the  more  ef- 
fective. There  is  a  turning  anew  to  the  God  of  the  nations. 
This  has  never  been  more  amply  illustrated  than  during  the 
great  European  war.  Germany  has  its  national  God,  so 
has  France,  so  has  England.  The  layman,  the  theologian, 
the  churchman,  all  point  Him  out  as  the  God  of  their  nation. 
He  aids  or  is  asked  to  aid,  and  is  thanked  for  aiding  their 
respective  armies.  In  vain  do  a  few  voices,  crying  in  the 
wilderness,  remonstrate  against  this  reaction  to  the  Jahweh- 
ism  of  Old  Testament  times.  [Such  remonstrances  have  been 
voiced  by  Charles  Osbourne,  Religion  in  Europe  and  the 
World  War  (Dodd  Mead  and  Co.,  1915),  and  by  H.  G. 
Wells,  God  the  Invisible  King.  New  York,  1917.] 

Aside  from  the  revival  of  the  old  Jehovistic  God  the  war 
has  given  tremendous  and  altogether  unprecedented  impetus 
to  religious  faith.  In  some  cases  it  has  destroyed  faith. 
Thus  it  happened  to  that  liberal  and  modernist,  M.  Loisy. 
[See  his  Religion  et  la  Guerre.  Paris,  1915.]  For  the  most 
part,  however,  it  has  been  a  stimulant  to  the  weary,  a  steady- 
ing influence  to  the  wavering,  a  staff  to  the  sceptical. 

"  As  is  natural  in  times  of  stress,"  says  an  American  writ- 
ing from  Paris  in  April,  1915,  "  a  national  religious  revival 
seems  immanent.  In  spite  of  the  reduction  of  population, 
every  church  in  Paris  was  filled  on  Christmas  eve,  and  at 
St.  Genevieve,  near  the  Pantheon,  where  some  special  serv- 
ices were  being  held  during  the  following  week,  the  crowds 
extended  some  distance  out  into  the  street.  This  is  the 
more  remarkable  when  one  remembers  the  atheistic  and  anti- 
religious  tendencies  in  France  of  recent  years."  [Published 
in  The  American  Oxonian,  II  (1915),  95.]  The  increase  in 
religious  zeal  was  not  limited  to  France  but  occurred  in  both 
England  and  Germany,  and,  we  may  suppose,  in  the  other 
countries  at  war.  In  the  early  weeks  of  the  war  the  churches 
in  Berlin  and  in  London  were  filled  to  overflowing,  although 
there  were  many  special  services.  [The  literature  is  al- 


The  Messiah  and  Politics  233 

ready  voluminous.  See,  e.  g.,  The  Independent,  August  30, 
1915.  War,  Religion,  and  the  Man  in  the  Street,  Contem- 
porary Review,  1917,  and  The  Living  Age,  July  27,  1917. 
The  Return  of  Religion  (by  William  Barry),  The  Nineteenth 
Century  and  After,  July,  1917,  also,  Living  Age,  October  6, 
1917.  Christianity  and  War  (by  M.  D.  Petre),  Edinburgh 
Review,  Oct.,  1915.  Chapter  on  The  German  Religious  Con- 
sciousness and  the  War,  in  A.  D.  McLaren,  Germanism  from 
Within.  New  York,  1916.  Chapter  on  The  Religious  Re- 
vival, in  H.  G.  Wells,  Italy,  France,  and  Britain  at  War. 
New  York,  1917.  Vida  D.  Scudder,  The  Church  and  the 
Hour.  New  York,  1917.  Foakes-Jackson,  Faith  and  the 
War.  London,  1915.] 

As  Jules  Bois  has  said,  "  It  is  only  in  the  course  of  grave 
national  crises  .  .  .  that  there  manifests  itself  a  religious 
spirit,  free  from  all  internal  sectarian  dissensions  and  from 
conflict  between  orthodox  doctrines  and  free  thought  —  a 
spirit  harmonious,  integral,  disdainful  of  petty  details,  and 
welded  together  in  the  fire  of  a  glowing  and  mystic  enthusi- 
asm. Such  is  the  case  of  France.  .  .  .  There  has  been  and 
there  still  is  [1917]  between  all  creeds  a  kind  of  rivalry  of 
devotion  and  concord.  Every  Sunday  in  Alsace,  the  Protes- 
tant parson  helps  the  cure  with  the  Mass,  acting  as  organist. 
Dying  soldiers  hear  prayers  read  by  the  regimental  chaplain, 
irrespective  of  the  church  to  which  he  belongs.  The  authen- 
tic story  of  the  rabbi  of  Lyon,  who  was  slain  on  the  battle- 
field at  the  moment  when  he  presented  a  crucifix  to  a  wounded 
Catholic  officer  is  well  known."  [The  France  Who  Prays, 
The  Bookman,  July,  1917.  See  in  this  connection  the  chap- 
ter on  Moral  Evil  and  Racial  Hope  in  Rev.  Geo.  A.  Gor- 
don, Aspects  of  the  Infinite  Mystery.  Boston,  1916.] 

Thus,  in  the  present  European  war  God  has  shown  himself 
not  merely  "  very  plainly  as  a  group  figure,  a  rational  per- 
sonage," but  as  an  individual  Savior  as  well.  [Elsie  C. 
Parsons,  Social  Rule,  147.  New  York,  1916.] 

The  story  of  the  effect  of  national  crises  on  religious  faith 
has  been  most  dramatically  portrayed  by  H.  G.  Wells  in  his 
book,  Mr.  Britling  Sees  It  Through.  It  will  be  worth  our 
while  to  consider  for  a  moment. 


Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

Mr.  Britling  and  His  God 

We  have  all  read,  or  will  read,  Mr.  Britling  Sees  It 
Through.  We  will  read  it  because,  as  ex-President  Taft  has 
said,  it  represents  experiences  through  which  we,  too,  as 
the  Great  War  progresses,  will  pass.1  Part  of  these  ex- 
periences are  religious.  When  Mr.  Britling  sees  the  begin- 
ning of  the  conflict  he  is  non-religious.  We  might  expect 
less  religious  reaction  from  him  than  if  he  were  irreligious, 
atheistic  or  evenly  actively  agnostic.  These  often  prove 
good  soil  if  only  they  are  cultivated  properly.  Yet  without 
any  of  these  qualifications  Mr.  Britling  emerges  a  religious 
man. 

What  has  been  responsible  for  his  conversion  and  to  what 
has  he  been  converted? 

He  has  found  God.  You  will  have  to  read  the  story  of 
this  God  the  Invisible  King  in  order  to  become  acquainted 
with  his  attributes.  He  is  certainly  not  the  jealous  na- 
tional God  of  the  Hebrews  —  the  God  so  rampant  among 
the  warring  European  and  Mohammedan  peoples.  Neither, 
Mr.  Wells  assures  us,  is  he  the  God  of  Christendom.  The 
nature  of  this  God  and  his  attributes  he  describes  very 
vividly.  This  God  is  finite,  limited  by  fate  or  Necessity ;  he 
is  kindly  and  helpful  to  the  struggling  soul.  But  only  to 
the  struggling  soul.  He  believes  in  progress  and  is  ready 
to  help  with  sympathy,  though  never  with  miracle,  the  soul 
that  is  endeavoring  to  find  the  light  and  is  struggling  to- 
wards it.  More  than  this  God  is  powerless  to  do  —  he  would, 
even  as  we  human  beings  would,  but  cannot.  He  is  remark- 
ably like  the  Greek's  demi-urge,  an  intermediary  with  limited 
powers  seeking  to  intervene  between  the  harsh  decrees  of  Fate 
and  the  sad  lot  of  mortals.  He  can  no  more  destroy  this 
stern  outer  Necessity  than  he  can  arbitrarily  save  humanity. 

Mr.  Wells  drives  home  the  fact. that  his  God  is  truth  not 
poetry.  "  God  is  no  abstraction  nor  trick  of  words,  no 
Infinite.  He  is  as  real  as  a  bayonet  thrust  or  an  embrace."1 
If  others  say,  "  Show  us  this  person ;  let  us  hear  him,"  the 
reassurance  is,  "  If  they  listen  to  the  silences  within,  prts- 

iThe  above  was  written  in  February,  1918. 


The  Messiah  and  Politics  235 

ontly  they  will  hear  him."  [God  the  Invisible  King,  56.] 
But  if  those  who  insistently  listen  insist  also  that  they  do 
not  hear  him?  Mr.  Wells  would,  I  presume,  reply,  "  Then, 
indeed  you  are  to  be  pitied,  for  you  are  deficient  in  this 
sensibility."  Other  comfort  there  seems  none.  It  is  as 
though  one  listened  faithfully  to  an  opera  and  failed  to  find 
therein  any  music,  any  exaltation  of  the  soul.  God  is  a 
music  of  exaltation  tremulously  pervading  our  souls,  if  only 
we  have  ear  for  it. 

In  some  ways  Mr.  Wells'  proof  of  God  reminds  us  of  Des- 
cartes' famous  ontological  proof  of  God.  I  find  in  me  the 
thought  of  an  Infinite  Being;  only  an  Infinite  Being  could 
supply  a  conception  of  the  Infinite ;  therefore  the  Infinite 
Being  exists.  Here  the  existence  of  the  conception  is  taken 
as  proof  sufficient  of  the  existence  of  the  object  conceived. 
Is  this  also  Mr.  Wells'  method  or  does  he  adduce  other  ob- 
jective proofs?  If  he  does  I  have  failed  to  discover  them. 
The  assumption  is  clear ;  the  legitimacy  of  it  is  another  mat- 
ter and  apart.  In  numerous  passages  quoted  from  other 
writers  he  points  out  the  implied  or  expressed  belief  in  prog- 
ress and  betterment  and  thus  the  belief  in  God.  But  what 
has  that  to  do  with  the  existence  of  the  hypothecated  God? 
Have  not  all  men  believed  for  centuries  in  a  Ptolemaic  sys- 
tem, in  the  justice  of  their  cause,  in  a  prolongation  beyond 
the  grave  of  the  mundane  life?  Why  does  Mr.  Wells  rule 
one  of  these  out  of  court  and  reserve  another  as  the 
exemplar  of  truth?  Has  he  discovered  or  has  he  created 
God? 

The  belief,  he  says,  is  "  crystallising  out  of  the  intellectual, 
social,  and  spiritual  confusions  of  this  time."  "  People  ha- 
bitually religious,"  he  writes  elsewhere,  "  have  been  stirred 
to  new  depths  of  reality  and  sincerity,  and  people  are  think- 
ing of  religion  who  never  thought  of  religion  before." 
[Italy,  France,  and  Britain  at  War,  200.]  Needs  call  forth 
faith  and  faith  finds  God.  [God  the  Invisible  King,  6.] 

Mr.  Wells  realizes  that  in  all  of  the  warring  countries  re- 
ligion is  in  the  air  and  God  is  crystallizing  out  of  it.  Now 
that  we  are  in  the  war  may  we  not  anticipate  some  similar 
stirring  of  spirit  here?  Already  the  prediction  has  been 


236  Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

made  that  "  Religion  in  this  stormful  crisis  is  coming  to  its 
own  among  the  American  people.  .  .  .  Before  the  war  is  over 
the  American  people  will  have  made  their  God.  That  is  now 
in  the  making.  Perhaps  it  would  be  more  exact  to  say  that 
God  already  exists,  and  that  the  people  are  engaged  in  find- 
ing him.  For  in  periods  of  peace  and  plenty,  in  the  midst 
of  '  the  daily  round  and  the  common  task,'  a  nation  is  liable 
to  forget  that  it  has  a  God."  [President  Charles  F.  Thwing, 
article  on  God  in  the  Making,  published  by  the  National 
Editorial  Service  in  August,  1917.  Also,  American  Opinion, 
in  Hibbert  Journal,  Oct.,  1917;  Living  Age,  Dec.,  1917.] 

Surely  it  doth  seem  that,  in  this  realm  at  least,  "  knowl- 
edge is  but  the  servant  of  desire  and  hope  and  faith."  Mr. 
Britling  found  God  because  his  desire,  his  hope,  and  his  faith 
demanded  one.  His  God,  it  is  true,  does  not  satisfy  all. 
[E.  g.,  his  friend  and  neighbor  the  Countess  of  Warwick. 
See  her  article  on  The  God  of  Mr.  Britling  —  And  of  Our 
Fathers,  The  Bookman,  April,  1917,  Vol.  45,  p.  145-7.] 
But  if  he  wishes  to  apply  the  name  God  to  this  particular 
set  of  demands  and  hopes,  why  should  we  say  him  nay? 
After  all,  his  views  depart  scarcely  at  all  from  those  of  Vol- 
taire. "  I  had  rather  worship  a  limited  than  a  wicked 
God,"  writes  Voltaire  in  Candide.  "  I  cannot  possibly  of- 
fend him  when  I  say :  6  Thou  hast  done  all  that  a  powerful, 
kind,  and  wise  being  could  do.  It  is  not  thy  fault  if  thy 
works  cannot  be  as  good  and  perfect  as  thou  art.'  ' 

[Voltaire's  view  came  from  an  age  of  political  foment  and 
personal  persecution.  Perhaps  he  was  influenced  in  this  for- 
mulation by  the  Monodology  of  Leibnitz  who  insisted  that 
God  had  chosen  the  best  of  all  possible  worlds,  having  been 
limited  in  the  opportunities.  Francis  Bradley  facetiously 
referred  to  it  as  the  best  of  all  possible  worlds,  everything 
in  it  being  a  necessary  evil.  See  Bradley,  Appearance  and 
Reality. ~\ 

To  any  one  who  can  read  the  signs  of  the  times  the  indi- 
cations of  a  religious  revival  are  sufficiently  ample.  Na- 
tional calamity  brings  our  thoughts  and  emotions  to  a  focus. 
We  become  unitedly  concerned  about  our  salvation.  There 
is  bound  to  be  in  it  something  of  the  mob  psychology.  We 


The  Messiah  and  Politics  237 

think  and  act  in  masses ;  the  individual  isolation  is  gone,  and, 
in  its  place,  is  the  intenser  but  more  unthinking  ardor  of 
united  action.  The  critical  factor  is  in  abeyance.  We  are 
more  open  to  suggestion,  less  able  to  check  extravagance  of 
thought  and  action.  We  wish  to  be  saved.  The  wish  is 
father  to  the  thought.  We  find  a  method  of  salvation  not 
made  with  human  hands  and  to  it  we  entrust  ourselves  and 
our  fortunes.  So  it  has  been  throughout  all  the  centuries 
of  history  and  so  it  remains  to-day  the  world  over,  among 
the  most  civilized  as  among  the  most  uncivilized  of  peoples. 

Mr.  Britling  may  well  regard  his  experience  as  typical 
rather  than  exceptional.  He  has  given  expression  to  a 
common  need.  He  has  found  a  God  because  he  has  demanded 
a  God  to  make  life  rational  and  worth  living.  Whether  his 
God  is  identical  with  the  God  of  his  fellows  who  seek  him 
in  like  manner  is  a  point  we  shall  not  take  up  at  this  time. 
If  this  God  is  but  an  emphasised  portion  of  Mr.  Britling 
himself,  then  there  would  seem  to  be  as  many  Gods  as  there 
are  Mr.  Britlings,  and  as  various  in  character.  But  this 
need  not  detract  from  their  efficacy  nor  from  their  reality. 
For,  as  Robert  Louis  Stevenson  once  remarked,  every  man  is, 
in  the  last  resort,  his  own  doctor  of  divinity,  and,  whatever 
his  indebtedness  to  others,  must  work  out  his  own  salvation 
in  his  own  way. 

While  the  effect  of  the  War  upon  Mr.  Wells  represents 
what  has  taken  place  again  and  again,  there  is  another  type 
of  reaction  directly  in  opposition.  This  type  is  exemplified 
in  its  noblest  form  by  M.  Alfred  Loisy,  a  French  modernist, 
whose  faith  has  gone  to  pieces  in  the  tumult  of  the  fray. 

Nor,  should  we,  perhaps,  say  that  his  faith  has  gone  to 
pieces.  Rather  it  has  anchored  itself  anew  to  other  im- 
pulses than  the  orthodox  religious  ones,  if  religious  they 
should  be  called.  He  is  insulted  that  the  Germans  should 
flout  their  God  as  Teutonic,  German  in  make-up  as  in  sym- 
pathy, and  pose  self-righteously  as  the  pets  of  this  old 
Jahweh- Woden.  He  is  not  a  little  chagrined  that  the  Pope 
has  not  limited  himself  to  impartiality  rather  than  to  strict 
neutrality  in  a  struggle  of  causes  where  one  should  be  im- 
partial but  no  one  can  with  honor  be  neutral. 


238  Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

His  arraignment  is,  however,  much  deeper  than  this.  It 
is  not  merely  that  the  churches  have  failed;  what  is  of  tre- 
mendously more  import  is  that  Christianity  has  failed.  The 
teachings  of  Christ  have  failed  egregiously  because  they  have 
found  no  place  for  patriotism,  for  loyalty  to  group  or  na- 
tion. They  have  thus  failed  to  meet  one  of  the  most  search- 
ing problems  of  the  time  of  the  great  teacher,  and  they  offer 
no  solution  to  contemporary  conflicts  of  interests  and  ideals 
save  such  solution  as  no  citizen  can  accept,  no  patriot  har- 
bor for  a  single  moment.  Under  no  circumstance,  it  would 
seem  —  here  M.  Loisy  has  many  interpreters  to  the  con- 
trary, though  he  is  not  controversial  —  is  war,  from  the 
standpoint  of  the  teachings  of  Christ,  justifiable.  We,  of 
the  present  day,  can  not  shrink  from  war  as  always  inferior 
to  peace.  If  we  are  to  sing,  "  Glory  to  God  in  the  highest," 
let  us  have  no  lower  aspiration  than  "  Peace  on  earth  to  men 
of  good  will."  Let  our  peace  be  a  peace  designed  to  foster 
righteousness,  not  one  that  passively  paves  the  way  to  evil. 
Uppermost  always  must  be  social  obligation.  "  The  famous 
rights  of  man  are  the  obligations  of  society  to  the  indi- 
vidual, the  duties  of  all  to  each.  Not  less  obvious  or  neces- 
sary are  the  duties  of  the  individual  to  society,  of  each  to 
all.  The  foundation  of  these  duties,  which  is  also  the  found- 
ation of  society,  of  all  human  order,  of  the  enduring  reli- 
gion, is  simply  that  each  individual  owes  himself  entirely  to 
the  society  which  has  reared  him,  because  he  owes  to  it  every- 
thing he  is."  Thus  M.  Loisy  stands  out  as  first  and  fore- 
most a  patriot  and  a  Frenchman. 

If  we  may  add  our  sad  sequel  to  these  fine  sentiments  of  the 
author  just  quoted,  it  is  that  what  he  has  said  will  prove 
good  dogma  for  the  conquering  Teuton  as  well  as  for  the 
resisting  Frenchman.  If  the  Frenchman  owes  to  France 
everything,  then,  by  parity  of  reasoning,  the  German  owes 
to  Germany  everything  —  unswerving  allegiance,  sacrifice  to 
the  group.  Must  we  not,  then,  transcend  the  patriotic  loyal- 
ties and  superimpose  upon  them  some  inclusive  ideal  which 
will  reconcile  their  conflicting  interests?  Must  we  not  keep 
a  self  not  national  to  ourselves  if  we  are  to  speak  of  inter- 
national duties?  [A.  Loisy,  Religion  and  the  War.  Eng- 


The  Messiah  and  Politics  239 

lish  translation.  Oxford,  1915.  See  also,  the  chapter  on 
Pulpits  of  Hate,  in  D.  Thomas  Curtin,  The  Land  of  Deepen- 
ing Shadow:  Germany  at  War.  New  York,  1917.  H.  A. 
Gibbons,  Paris  Reborn:  A  Study  in  Civic  Psychology.  New 
York,  1915.  The  Present  Truth,  Vol.  II,  Series  No.  25. 
Published  at  Takoma  Park,  Washington,  D.  C.,  Jan.  1, 
1918'.] 

Mohammedanism,  as  we  have  seen,  has  a  similar  story. 
The  Mahdi,  the  Mohammedan  Messiah,  has  arisen  again  and 
again  among  the  downtrodden  and  oppressed,  promising  de- 
liverance and  freedom.  The  Mahdi  movement  which  resulted 
in  General  Gordon's  death  in  the  Sudan,  taught  the  English 
the  potency  of  this  inspiration,  and  they  have  had  other  simi- 
lar lessons  in  India.  The  Ghost  Dance  religion  which  swept 
across  the  Plains  Area  in  our  own  country  a  little  more  than 
a  quarter  of  a  century  ago,  culminating  in  the  massacre  of 
General  Custer,  was  a  movement  inspired  by  a  Messiah,  a 
politico-religious  reformer  who  now  lives  a  quiet  and  unob- 
trusive life  among  the  Paiute  Indians  of  the  South-West. 
There  is  nothing  improbable  in  Prof.  Shorey's  suggestion 
that  the  large  space  allotted  by  Herodotus  to  national  and 
local  festivals,  cults,  shrines,  oracles,  the  religion  of  the 
dead,  the  worship  of  heroes,  indicates  that  the  crisis  of  the 
Persian  wars  temporarily  stimulated  the  popular  faith  in 
the  supernatural.  [Philosophy  (Greek),  in  Hastings' 
E.R.E.,  IX  (1917),  860.] 


CHAPTER  IX 

AN    INTERPRETATION    OF    MESSIANIC    MOVEMENTS 

"  The  worth  and  interest  of  the  world  consists  not  in  its  elements,  be 
these  elements  things,  or  be  they  the  conjunctions  of  things;  it  exists 
rather  in  the  dramatic  outcome  of  the  whole  process,  and  in  the  mean- 
ing of  the  successive  stages  which  the  elements  work  out" —  William 
James. 

The  Conditions  Which  Foster  Messianic  Faith 

*  <  T^  ARE  souls  in  dark  and  stagnant  times  have  believed 
Avin  progress  and  have  inculcated  a  vague  messianic 
hope."  [Hayes,  Introduction  to  Sociology,  483.  Appleton, 
1915.]  Such  rare  souls  to  which  we  give  the  name  of  mes- 
siahs  have  flourished  in  many  parts  of  the  earth's  surface 
and  in  many  stages  of  civilization.  They  are  not  unknown 
to  the  rudest  savagery ;  they  have  brought  hope  to  our  early 
European  forebears ;  they  have  come  with  the  dawn  of  Ori- 
ental history  and  they  still  rise,  now  and  then,  to  cheer  the 
path  of  at  least  two  races  of  Oriental  peoples,  the  Hebrews 
and  their  cousins,  the  Arabs. 

Messianic  faith  can,  in  many  cases,  be  traced  to  an  at- 
tempt to  revive  a.  decadent  religion.  But  that  this  is  only 
part  of  the  story,  and  perhaps  the  smaller  part,  the  preced- 
ing chapters  have  shown.  The  counterpart  of  the  decaying 
religious  or  social  life  which  makes  up  the  complement  of 
.messianic  faith,  is  an  active  resistance  to  this  decadence,  a 
vigorous  reaction  by  the  given  individual  or  group.  Indeed, 
if  the  individual  or  group  is  sufficiently  anxious,  the  religion, 
or  the  society,  can  always  be  shown  to  be  in  need  of  a  savior 
of  some  kind.  To  zealots,  as  some  one  has  said,  the  decay  of 
religion  is  always  obvious.  "  Fanatics  are  always  ready  to 
denounce  the  wickedness  of  the  times,  to  proclaim  the  advent 
of  a  prophet,  to  herald  the  dawn  of  a  millennium."  If,  now, 
"  the  multitude  are  always  grateful  to  know  that  they  are 

240 


An  Interpretation  of  Messianic  Movements 

living  at  an  important  crisis ;  on  the  eve  of  some  portentous 
catastrophe  which  is  to  aggrandize  themselves  and  chastise 
everybody  else,"  we  have  the  stage  set  for  the  appearance  of 
the  messiah  and  the  successful  playing  of  his  role.  But  if 
the  multitude  is  not  pleased  to  have  such  information  —  and 
it  is,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  often  in  unreceptive  mood  —  the 
zealot  will  be  zealous  in  vain.  On  the  other  hand,  if  it  longs 
to  be  saved,  and  there  is  no  zealot  at  hand,  a  zealous  people 
will  stir  up  one.  Reason  is  helpless  when  matched  with  obsti- 
nate hope,  for  obstinate  hope  is  always  a  refusal  to  apply 
reason  to  the  situation.  So,  when  a  people  have  once  heart- 
ily embraced  a  chimera  and  cheer  one  another  with  it,  evi- 
dence does  little  to  dissipate  the  illusion.  Hope  fosters  faith, 
and  faith  finds  some  agency  of  belief,  even  if  this  be  only  a 
voice.  Hope  is  a  poor  companion  for  a  man  in  need,  says 
Hesiod.  But  it  is  really  the  best  of  companions,  the  most 
inspiring  and  invigorating.  The  man  without  hope  may  be 
likened  to  the  Indian's  hibernating  bear  —  he  gnaweth  his 
own  foot  within  his  fireless  house  and  cheerless  home.  [See 
Greenville  Kleiser,  How  to  Develop  Self -Confidence.  New 
York,  1910.  Naive  but  essentially  true.] 

With  all  our  search  for  a  rationale  of  the  messianic  hope 
wre  shall  never  arrive  at  a  complete  understanding  of  it, 
never  so  thoroughly  know  the  conditions  under  which  it 
arises,  as  to  be  able  safely  to  predict  its  occurrence  at  a 
given  time  and  place.  But  we  can  show,  I  believe,  some  of 
the  larger  features  common  to  its  manifestations,  and  can 
describe  the  types  of  mind  and  the  social  conditions  which 
foster  it,  as  well  as  those  which  are  unfavorable  to  its  genesis. 

The  Attitude  That  Fosters  Messianic  Faith 

For  purposes  of  interpretation  we  may  distinguish  two 
types  of  attitude,  the  active  and  the  passive,  the  one  favor- 
able to  messianic  hope,  the  other  a  damper  upon  it,  though 
the  difference  is,  of  course,  one  of  degree. 

If  we  view  human  nature  in  the  large,  the  struggle  for  sal- 
vation may  be  said  to  be  wide-spread  and  persistent.  No 
human  society  survives  unless  it  feels  and  responds  to  some 


Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

phase  of  this.  need.  Man  lives  in  a  world  of  competing  forces 
and  is  strangled  by  them  unless  he  struggles.  He  meets  these 
forces  in  variant  manner.  "  He  may  think  his  enemies  to  be 
natural  phenomena,  such  as  the  cold  of  winter  which  threat- 
ens him  with  starvation ;  or  they  may  be  human  foes,  who 
constantly  endanger  his  life  and  happiness.  They  may  be 
untoward  social  circumstances  which  lay  heavy  burdens  upon 
him  in  every  hour  of  his  existence.  They  may  be  the  im- 
personal forces  of  an  inexorable  destiny  in  whose  meshes  he 
seems  hopelessly  entangled,  or  destiny  may  have  become  per- 
sonalized in  the  form  of  demoniac  powers  lurking  in  every 
shadow  ready  to  pounce  upon  him  at  any  moment.  Or  he 
may  regard  his  worst  enemy  to  be  gross  materialistic  exist- 
ence which  chokes  and  tarnishes  his  soul  shut  up  in  the  prison 
house  of  the  body.  Again,  he  may  lament  that  he  has 
yielded  to  the  wicked  impulses  of  his  heart  and  thus  placed 
his  conscience  under  the  burden  of  .  sin  and  guilt.  These 
hostile  forces,  acting  singly  or  in  combination,  tend  to  make 
man  conscious,  early  in  his  experience,  of  the  need  of  sal- 
vation. 

"  His  conception  of  the  content  of  salvation  naturally 
varies  with  his  notion  of  his  foes.  He  longs  for  a  land  of 
plenty  with  security  from  all  invading  and  plundering  armies  ; 
he  pictures  a  Utopia  where  life  for  everybody,  and  for  him- 
self in  particular,  will  be  free  from  distressing  circumstances  ; 
he  seeks  to  anticipate  fate  by  providing  himself  with  safe- 
guards against  all  the  demons ;  he  looks  for  some  means  to 
release  the  soul  from  its  prison  chamber,  purge  it  of  its 
impurities  through  contact  with  matter,  and  enable  it  to  soar 
aloft  to  the  ethereal  regions  whence  it  came ;  or,  finally,  he 
yearns  for  deliverance  from  sin  and  guilt,  and  the  restoration 
of  a  pure  heart,  that  he  may  fill  his  life  with  noble  ethical 
attainments." 

The  process  of  salvation  is  two-fold:  he  relies  upon  him- 
self or  upon  some  external  superhuman  forces.  "  He  makes 
himself  weapons  of  war  and  builds  fortresses  to  ward  off  the 
attacks  of  his  enemies.  He  corrects  social  ills  by  reorgan- 
izing society  and  establishing  new  form  of  government.  He 
protects  himself  from  the  demons  of  a  fatalistic  world  by 


An  Interpretation  of  Messianic  Movements        243 

prying  into  their  secrets,  learning  their  foibles,  and  formu- 
lating charms  or  other  magical  devices  for  thwarting  their 
designs.  The  soul  enveloped  in  base  matter  struggles 
through  self-cultivation  of  its  own  inherent  divine  character 
to  free  itself  from  its  prison  house.  The  wicked  impulses 
of  the  heart  are  nullified  through  a  volitional  activity  of 
man  who  establishes  laws  for  the  regulation  of  his  conduct 
and  purges  all  evil  out  of  his  life.  In  all  this  man  is  pri- 
marily his  own  savior  and  salvation  is  essentially  a  matter 
of  his  own  attainment." 

The  other  process  of  salvation  is  one  in  which  reliance  is 
placed  primarily  on  external  assistance.  "  He  is  under  the 
special  care  of  a  mighty  savior-deity  who  is  capable  of 
carrying  him  safely  through  the  vicissitudes  of  life.  His 
soul  is  delivered  from  its  thraldom  in  matter  through  the 
help  of  a  divine  deliverer  who  descends  to  its  rescue  and  his 
success  in  the  struggle  against  sin,  guilt,  and  the  power  of 
evil-desire  is  assured  through  divine  aid  which  frees  him  from 
bondage  of  the  past  and  fills  his  heart  with  new  and  holy 
impulses.  This  general  type  of  faith  may  be  termed  redemp- 
tion-religion, in  contrast  with  the  former  type  which  might 
be  called  attainment-religion.  The  two  types,  to  be  sure, 
shade  into  one  another.  Most  religions  of  attainment  have 
a  place  for  the  notion  of  the  deity's  help  as  a  supplement  to 
human  effort,  while  most  redemption-religions  require  some 
measure  of  activity  on  man's  part.  But  the  general  dis- 
tinction is  clear.  In  one  case  it  is  human  endeavor  which 
stands  in  the  foreground  and  conditions  attainment;  in  the 
other,  human  effort  counts  only  as  an  accessory  to  the  re- 
deeming work  of  the  deity."  The  problem  of  salvation  is  a 
story  of  individual  peculiarities  interwoven  with  a  fluctuat- 
ing and  inconstant  world  which  is  variously  apprehended  by 
individual  men.  [S.  J.  Case,  Evolution  of  Early  Christian- 
ity, 284-6.  Chicago,  1914  The  two  attitudes,  passive  and 
actively  resistant,  are  well  described  by  MacDonald,  Aspects 
of  Islam,  Ch.  VIII.] 

So  much  for  the  psychological  setting.  Let  us  now  con- 
sider two  diverse  methods  of  interpretating  our  collated 
data,  namely, 


Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

Psychological  'versus  Statistical  Methods  of  Interpretation 

Shall  We  Interpret  Messianic  Movements  by  Psychological 

or  by  Statistical  Methods? 

It  would  be  difficult  to  find  two  points  of  view  that  appear, 
at  first  blush,  to  have  less  in  common  than  the  psychological 
and  the  statistical.  The  one  attempts  to  explain  a  social 
state  or  action  by  the  conscious  motives  and  desires  that 
precede  or  accompany  the  social  state  or  action;  the  other 
refuses  to  accept  such  states  of  mind  at  their  face  value, 
treats  motives  and  intentions  as  only  a  portion  of  the  whole 
situation,  and  gives  them  no  unique  subjective  but  only  an 
objective  value.  The  psychologist  is  interested  primarily  in 
the  nature  and  intensity  of  the  conscious  states  which  are 
parts  of  the  respective  situations;  while  the  statistician  is 
interested  in  their  recurrence  under  similar  situations  and 
in  the  uniformity  of  this  recurrence.  As  we  shall  see,  how- 
ever, these  two  points  of  view  are,  perhaps,  not  separate  and 
apart,  but  the  one  may  play  into  the  hands  of  the  other. 

To  illustrate  the  apparent  independence  and  virtual  inter- 
dependence of  these  two  methods  of  treatment,  the  psycho- 
logical and  the  statistical,  we  could  scarcely  find  better  exam- 
ple than  the  phenomena  of  messianic  religions.  Here  we 
have  the  play  of  strong  motives  and  an  intensity  of  psycho- 
logical influences  that  can  scarcely  be  out-paralleled.  Sta- 
tistics will  apply  to  good  purpose  since  these  messianic  mani- 
festations are  both  numerous  and  widespread.  Moreover, 
when  we  seek  for  causative  influences,  we  find  that  any  psy- 
chological interpretation  must  take  refuge  in  statistics  to 
support  its  case,  while,  conversely,  no  statistical  investiga- 
tion that  is  not  guided  by  psychological  analysis  is,  in  th.e 
least,  trustworthy  —  perhaps  not  even  possible. 

Messianic  manifestations  in  aboriginal  America  afford  a 
good  illustration  of  the  difficulties  inherent  in  the  problem 
of  interpretation.  The  first  of  these  occurred  in  1675  in 
the  pueblo  of  San  Juan,  among  the  Tewa.  Here  we  find  a 
dozen  conditions  any  one  of  which  might,  conceivably,  be 
the  cause.  How  shall  we  know  whether  the  real  cause  is  the 
genius  and  enthusiasm  of  the  leader,  the  favorable  social 


An  Interpretation  of  Messianic  Movements        245 

atmosphere,  the  attempt  to  withstand  outside  pressure,  or 
some  other  of  the  manifold  forces  at  work?  An  intensive 
study  will  bring  out  the  details  of  the  situation  more  clearly, 
but  will  it  identify  efficient  causes?  While  the  psychologist 
puzzles  over  this  one  instance  the  statistician  will  seek  exam- 
ples of  messianic  manifestations  in  other  areas.  He  will 
bring  other  examples  from  the  Plains  area  and  from  the 
Eastern  States. 

Shall  we  suppose  that  a  study  of  these  manifestations  in 
the  Eastern  and  Plains  tribes  can  be  of  value  in  determining 
the  causes  of  a  similar  manifestation  in  the  Pueblo  region, 
or  shall  we  consider  them  as  incapable  of  throwing  light  on 
these  causes  —  inasmuch  as  the  former  are  unique  and  geo- 
graphically separate  from  the  Tewa  instance? 

It  seems  legitimate  to  extend  the  survey  to  these  other 
tribes.  In  them  we  may  find  the  rationale  more  prominently 
to  the  fore  than  in  the  Pueblo  tribe.  We  may  consider  the 
Tewa  as  but  one  instance  of  many  and  view  all  the  American 
messianic  movements  as  a  class  to  which  the  Tewa  belong. 

When  we  wish  to  interpret  messianic  movements  in  Amer- 
ica should  we  limit  our  consideration  to  them  or  should  we 
include  other  similar  movements  in  various  parts  of  the 
globe?  This  step  we  may  be  inclined  to  take  with  more 
hesitation  because  of  separation  in  time,  in  geography,  and 
in  culture  —  differences  which  some  consider  a  vital  weakness 
in  any  classification. 

Let  us  see,  then,  how  the  psychological  and  statistical 
methods,  respectively,  apply.  In  the  North  American  mani- 
festations there  is  a  great  diversity  of  psychological  condi- 
tions ;  an  intensity  of  feeling  is  about  the  only  psychological 
phase  common  to  all  of  them.  But  one  extraneous  influence 
is  invariably  present,  namely,  a  threatened  or  impending 
break-down  of  the  tribal  life,  due  to  outside  pressure  from 
other  groups.  In  some  cases  the  Messiah  and  his  followers 
are  aware  of  this  condition ;  in  other  cases  they  appear  to  be 
unconscious  of  it.  If  this  be  the  cause  the  recognition  of  it 
is  not  essential  to  its  efficacy. 

In  view  of  the  prevalence  throughout  aboriginal  America 
of  this  common  cause,  for  such  we  take  it  to  be,  the  story  of 


246  Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

messianic  movements  in  other  lands  has  an  added  interest. 
They  abound  in  Mohammedan  countries:  in  Algeria,  Mo- 
rocco, Tunisia,  the  Sudan,  Abyssinia,  India.  They  are 
found  among  African  tribes,  in  Melanesia,  the  Philippines, 
Thibet,  China,  and  in  the  older  Buddhistic  Japan  as  well  as 
in  the  Japan  of  to-day.  In  Judaism  the  messianic  idea  has 
found  place  from  the  days  of  Jeremiah  to  the  present  hour 
and  may  be  expected  to  reappear  at  any  time.  Historical 
and  geographical  continuity,  the  contagion  of  culture,  will 
explain  much  but  not  all,  for  the  faith  has  nourished  and 
Messiahs  have  arisen  most  frequently,  if  not  solely,  among 
the  poor  and  down-trodden  classes  and  at  the  moment  when 
the  hand  of  the  oppressor  was  heaviest.  This  is  as  true  of 
the  Mahdi  of  Mohammedanism  and  of  the  Messiah  of  Juda- 
ism as  of  the  Messiahs  of  North  America. 

The  investigator  may  easily  enough  describe  these  in- 
stances but  how  shall  he  interpret  them?  Shall  we  consider 
them  as  belonging  to  many  different  classes,  or  shall  we  say 
that  all  may  be  brought  into  one  class,  the  class  of  messianic 
religions?  Shall  we  give  them  a  psychological  or  shall  we 
give  them  a  statistical  interpretation,  that  is,  consider  the 
prevalence  of  some  objective  condition,  whether  or  not  that 
condition  is  recognized  by  those  who  participate  in  these 
movements  ? 

Why  is  it  that  rare  souls  who  have  lived  in  dark  and  stag- 
nant times  have  inculcated  a  messianic  hope?  Is  it  because 
they  were  rare  souls  and  believed  in  progress  or  is  it  because 
the  times  were  dark  and  stagnant?  Only  a  rare  soul  is 
capable  of  instilling  the  idea  and  only  dark  and  stagnant 
times  supply  the  need  for  it.  There  must  be  a  savior  to 
proclaim  salvation ;  there  must  be  also  a  people  willing  to 
be  saved;  and  there  must  be  some  impending  calamity  from 
which  they  wish  to  be  saved.  The  whole  phenomenon  is  an 
example  of  a  struggle  for  survival,  of  a  struggle  intensified 
by  the  danger.  Yet,  the  messianic  faith  can  nourish  with- 
out the  favorable  external  conditions,  for,  as  has  been  said, 
"  fanatics  are  always  ready  to  denounce  the  wickedness  of 
the  times,  to  proclaim  the  advent  of  a  prophet,  to  herald  the 
dawn  of  a  millennium,"  and  a  certain  portion  of  the  multi- 


A n  Interpretation  of  Messianic  Movements         247 

ide  are  always  grateful  to  know  that  they  are  living  at  an 
important  crisis,  "  on  the  eve  of  some  portentous  catas- 
trophe which  is  to  aggrandize  themselves  and  chastise  every- 
body else." 

Thus,  our  problem  is  part  of  a  larger  problem,  How 
shall  we  determine  cause  and  effect  in  social  life?  and  will 
be  answered  only  when  that  is  answered.  Let  us  then,  for 
a  moment  turn  to  this  larger  problem,  and  to  illustrations 
from  other  phases  of  social  life.  [In  the  December,  1911, 
number  of  The  Educational  Review  (Vol.  42,  p.  514-6),  in 
an  article  on  The  Significance  of  President  Lowell's  Statis- 
tics, the  author  discussed  a  similar  problem  in  the  field  of 
education,  and  suggested  that  "  perhaps  no  mathematical 
demonstration  will  ever  be  convincing  proof  of  the  efficacy 
or  failure  of  a  given  educational  system."] 

In  a  sense  every  phase  of  culture  may  be  given  a  psycho- 
logical interpretation.  Even  stone  implements  and  all  ma- 
terial objects  may  be  looked  upon  as  the  gratification  of 
some  desire  —  else  they  would  not  be  made  or  used.  This 
may  be  said  of  every  form  of  social  life ;  any  and  all  of  it 
may  be  viewed  as  the  response  to  a  demand,  the  creation  of  a 
desire.  Psychology,  however,  does  not  wholly  determine  cul- 
ture but  is,  on  the  contrary,  largely  determined  by  it.  Peo- 
ple have  a  certain  form  of  social  life  and  a  certain  material 
culture  because  this  is  what  they  want,  but  it  is  also  true 
that  they  want  it  because  they  have  it.  Perhaps  in  the  last 
resort  the  one  principle  will  explain  as  much  as  the  other. 
We  are  rational  beings  because  we  will  to  be  so  and  we  will  it 
because  we  are  such. 

If  this  interplay  of  psychology  and  sociology  be  admitted 

—  and  it  can  be  amply  demonstrated  —  a  psychological  ex- 
planation of  any  portion  of  social  life  becomes  hazardous. 
The  explanation  may  lie  embedded  in  psychology  or  in  the 
social,  material,  or  economic  life.  Suppose  we  wish  to  in- 
terpret some  actual  situation  of  social  or  psychic  life,  as  the 
anthropologist  and  historian  attempt  to  do :  what  weight 
are  we  to  give  these  respective  claimants,  any  one  of  which 
may,  conceivably,  be  a  sufficient  explanation? 

Let  us  take,  for  illustration,  some  of  the  situations  in 


Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

point;  for  example,  the  practice  of  killing  or  abandoning 
the  aged.  There  need  be  no  dispute  about  the  facts,  for 
hypothetical  cases  will  serve  equally  well. 

We  find  a  number  of  tribes  which  kill  or  abandon  the 
helpless  aged.  The  practice  is  best  exemplified  in  North 
America  among  the  Eskimo  and  the  Dakota.  These  tribes 
give  quite  different  explanations  for  the  practice.  The  Es- 
kimo, like  the  old  Scandinavians,  say  that  the  spirit  of  the 
deceased  enters  the  next  world  in  the  condition  in  which  it 
leaves  this  one.  Hence,  in  order  to  save  an  aged  parent 
from  an  enfeebled  and  miserable  condition  in  the  next  world, 
it  becomes  a  filial  duty  to  dispatch  him  or  her  before  age 
has  spoiled  the  chances  of  a  vigorous  postmortem  existence. 
There  is  reason  to  believe  that  the  killing  is  done  precisely 
from  this  motive,  and,  in  many  cases,  reluctantly,  though  the 
whole  system  of  religious  belief  sanctions  it. 

The  Dakota  abandon  the  aged  because  they  are  not  able 
to  keep  up  with  the  tribe  on  the  march,  but  they  show  affec- 
tion by  leaving  food  and  shelter  and  fuel  for  the  abandoned. 

Both  of  these  peoples  are  nomadic.  The  aged  are  cared 
for  in  camp  and  abandoned  only  when  they  are  unable  to 
keep  up  on  the  march.  Do  the  psychological  motives  ex- 
plain the  practice  or  shall  we  say  that  they  are  secondary 
rather  than  primary,  the  effect  rather  than  the  cause,  the 
excuse  but  not  the  reason,  and  shall  we  look  to  nomadic  life 
and  the  harsh  conditions  of  existence  as  more  fundamental 
and  causative? 

An  aged  Fijian  will  say  that  he  cannot  stand  the  taunts 
of  his  fellows  who  liken  his  encroaching  feebleness  to  the 
weakness  of  women,  and  he  will  accept  a  voluntary  death 
cheerfully  enough.  ^  Hindoo  widow  will  immolate  herself 
jhecauso  sbo  prefers  to  do  so.  Are  these  the  real  reasons  or 
only  the  reflexes  from  more  profound  conditions  which  lie 
beyond  the  individual's  control  and  so  only  an  effervescence 
of  deeper  currents? 

Again,  consider  the  motives  and  the  conditions  associated 
with  infanticide.  The  newborn  are  killed  from  various  mo- 
tives :  it  is  unseemly  for  twins  to  appear,  or  for  a  child  to  be 
born  while  another  is  not  yet  weaned,  or  to  be  born  at  a  cer- 


An  Interpretation  of  Messianic  Movements        249 

tain  season  of  the  year.  Suppose  that  this  season  is  the 
season  of  drought,  or  the  one  when  game  is  scarce ;  suppose 
that  the  tribes  which  practice  infanticide  most  are  those 
which  find  it  most  difficult  to  subsist  where  Nature  is  chary 
of  a  food  supply,  or  where  the  tribe  is  isolated  and  does  not 
need  a  surplus  of  warriors  to  recruit  its  ranks.  Shall  we 
look  to  unrecognized  economic  motives  as  the  deeper  and 
more  compelling  ones  or  shall  we  take  the  natives'  own  un- 
derstanding of  the  case  at  its  face  value  and  find  in  this 
practice,  not  one  deep-lying  cause,  but  causes  as  various 
as  the  motives  which  induce  to  infanticide  and,  at  the  same 
time,  condone  it? 

So  much  for  examples.  Illustrations  in  two  phases  of 
social  psychic  life  present  the  issue  as  well  as  illustrations  in 
two  hundred  phases.  But  it  is,  perhaps,  not  so  obvious  that 
two  examples  in  a  given  phase  carry  as  much  weight  as  two 
hundred.  Some,  no  doubt,  feel  that  if  we  have  illustration 
after  illustration  of  the  correlation  of  abandonment  of  the 
aged  with  nomadic  life,  and  case  after  case  in  which  infanti- 
cide is  associated  with  harsh  economic  life,  then  the  thesis 
that  the  economic  social  conditions  and  not  the  psychologi- 
cal occasioning  motives  are  the  determining  factors  is  cor- 
respondingly strengthened.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  we  find 
certain  psychological  motives  associated  with  certain  prac- 
tices, whether  there  is  or  is  not  the  harsh  economic  demand, 
tnen,  conversely,  the  psychological  stimulus  is  shown  to  be 
sufficient  and  it  must  be  taken  as  the  causative  element ;  the 
others  as  auxiliary  but  superfluous.  Or,  should  we  say  that 
in  some  cases  the  two  factors  (social-economic  and  psycho- 
logical) are  jointly  causative,  while  in  other  cases  one  alone 
is  causative? 

What  the  proffered  solution  of  a  given  problem  of  this 
kind  would  be  is  for  us  at  this  moment  not  so  important  as 
the  method  by  which  one  would  proceed  with  the  task;  for, 
after  all,  the  value  of  the  solution  can  never  be  conceived  as 
lying  apart  from  the  method  by  which  that  solution  has  been 
reached. 

Assuredly,  any  serious  inquirer  into  social  or  psychic 
causes  will  welcome  additions  to  the  data.  He  will  feel  safer 


£50  Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

with  two  hundred  instances  than  with  two.  But  why?  If 
it  is  merely  because  he  likes  to  have  more  material,  to  extend 
his  range  of  activity,  then  he  has  given  greater  amplitude 
to  the  problem,  but  he  is  not  necessarily  any  nearer  the  heart 
of  it.  He  may  romp  in  larger  confines,  but  he  is  still  confined 
to  romping. 

If,  however,  he  insists  that  this  increase  of  data  does  take 
him  nearer  to  the  heart  of  the  problem,  then  he  has  a  faith 
in  the  solvent  power  of  arithmetic  which  it  would  befit  him 
to  justify;  for  we  may  assume  that  he  is  catholic  enough  to 
wish  to  save  our  inquiring  souls  as  well  as  his  own.  Yet  if 
he  cannot  get  truth  by  counting  noses,  how  can  he  get  it  by 
counting  tribes?  Isn't  there  something  paradoxical  in  say- 
ing that  we  cannot  understand  the  efficient  causes  in  tribe  A 
or  in  tribes  A— F  in  North  America  if  we  are  limited  to  them, 
but  that  we  can  understand  them  in  larger  measure,  that  is 
more  intensively,  after  an  excursus  among  tribes  in  other 
parts  of  the  world  though  these  tribes  do  not  have  and  never 
did  have  any  historical  contact  with  the  tribes  in  North 
America?  Isn't  it  like  searching  amid  the  careers  of  Alex- 
ander the  Great,  Napoleon  the  First,  and  Emma  Goldman 
for  the  biography  of  George  Washington  ?  Can  the  alchemy 
of  arithmetic  transpose  such  supposition  into  seeming? 

The  process  may  be  above  arithmetical  alchemy.  The 
search  for  more  data  may  be  actuated,  not  by  a  desire  for 
multiplicity,  but  by  a  desire  for  completeness  and  unity. 
We  strive,  in  a  word,  to  include  all  the  members  of  a  class 
or  type,  in  order  that  we  may  understand  the  class,  and  so 
the  individual  members  of  it.  That  this  class  is  real  and  not 
figurative  can  be  plausibly  urged.  We  speak,  for  example, 
of  the  abandonment  of  the  aged  among  the  Eskimo.  But 
this  resolves,  after  all,  into  abandonment  by  various  indi- 
viduals —  there  is  no  tribal  abandonment.  We  speak  of 
the  custom,  and  properly  enough,  as  an  attribute  of  Eskimo 
culture,  and  so  treat  the  area  as  a  unit  rather  than  as  a  mul- 
tiplicity of  individual  behaviors.  In  much  the  same  way 
our  Fijian,  Australian,  and  other  tribal  units  can  be  gath- 
ered into  one  class,  a  class  and  a  unity  as  real  as  the  Eskimo 
class  and  unity;  for  both  are  syntheses,  both  are  but  the 


An  Interpretation  of  Messianic  Movements        251 

outcome  of  our  system  of  classification.  The  justification 
for  finding  this  unity  in  multiplicity  is  its  usefulness.  The 
microscopic  survey  of  the  microbe  would,  I  suppose,  justify 
it  in  considering  as  complex,  multiform,  and  incapable  of 
being  reduced  to  any  unity,  the  creature  which  we  accept 
as  a  single  individual.  If  the  voice  of  dissent  insists  that  in 
these  various  tribes  we  have  a  hiatus  in  culture,  space,  and 
historical  relations,  not  found  in  our  acceptance  of  the 
Eskimo  as  a  unit  of  culture,  we  might  reply  first,  that  the 
difference  is  only  a  matter  of  degree,  and,  secondly,  that  it  is 
not  material.  If  we  can  study  geological  formation  in  this 
manner,  why  not  sociological  formation?  Cosmic  history 
has  not  been  made  by  uniform  causes  any  more  than  has  hu- 
man history.  Human  nature  is  no  more  variant  in  its  fun- 
damentals than  is  soil  or  rocks,  and  the  atmosphere  that 
envelops  the  globe  has  had  no  more  uniform  history  than  the 
social  atmosphere  that  envelops  man.  But  in  this  day  only 
a  bold  heart  would  draw  the  inference. 

To  return  to  our  problem :  Is  it  any  easier  to  explain  the 
causative  influences  that  operate  this  centipede  class  than 
it  is  if  we  chop  it  up  into  so  many  monopede  tribes  each 
supported  by  its  own  psychic  and  social  crutches  ?  If  Amer- 
ican and  African  society  has  had  no  influence  upon  Hebrew 
society,  how  can  these  cultures  help  to  explain  Hebrew  cul- 
ture? If  we  remember  that  the  multiplicity  consists  in  the 
variety  of  times  and  places  where  social  life  is  unfolding, 
rather  than  in  the  nature  of  that  life  itself,  some  of  the  diffi- 
culty disappears.  Social  life  is  playing  its  role  in  many 
places  and  under  many  guises ;  but  it  is  composed  the  world 
over  of  much  the  same  stuff  and  strives  for  surprisingly  simi- 
lar things. 

The  relation  between  the  psychology  and  the  statistics  of 
social  life  is  a  bothersome  one.  We  count  the  number  of 
correspondences  and  of  lack  of  correspondences  to  see 
whether  our  law  holds  good,  and  consider  an  overwhelming 
majority  of  correspondences  a  good  proof  of  the  law.  Thus 
our  logic  of  interpretation  falls  back  for  its  ultimate  con- 
firmation upon  statistics,  and  it  is  difficult  to  see  how  we 
could  accept  a  law  which  was  not  demonstrated  by  an  actual 


Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

count  of  cases  in  which  it  is  put  to  the  test. 

Statistics,  then,  appear  to  be  vital.  But  can  they,  in 
themselves,  give  us  any  solution  or  must  they  always  be  sub- 
servient to  some  other  program,  a  witness  which  we  summon, 
but  only  a  witness  and  never  a  court  of  decision?  Take  the 
abandonment  of  the  aged  or  infanticide  as  cases  in  point. 
It  might  turn  out  that  these  customs  are  correlated  with  ex- 
tremes of  temperature,  with  amount  of  rainfall,  or  with  a 
belief  that  the  sun  passes  around  and  over  a  stationary  earth 
in  twenty-four  hours.  At  least  they  are,  as  a  matter  of  fact, 
correlated  with  dusky  skins,  and  the  absence  of  them  with 
white  skins.  Then,  if  statistics,  as  such,  are  to  prove  any- 
thing, they  prove  that  the  color  of  the  skin  has  as  much  to 
do  with  the  custom  as  has  economic  conditions.  In  fact,  it 
proves  the  causative  power  of  pigmentation  more  completely, 
for  the  correlation  is  much  higher. 

But  if  statistics  can  only  offer  their  evidence  and  we  are 
to  judge  of  their  value,  what  is  to  guide  us?  First,  we  might 
say,  no  one  would  believe  that  a  change  of  pigmentation 
would  produce  any  change  in  ethics.  But  unless  we  have 
statistical  proof  of  this,  isn't  our  declaration  a  matter  of 
mere  faith?  Obscure  things  do  affect  our  ethics:  a  shifting 
of  the  wind  to  the  rainy  quarter  may  upset  a  man's  liver 
and  cause  him  to  insult  his  wife.  There  is  no  reason  why 
it  should  do  so,  but  it  does.  Why,  then,  may  not  a  change 
of  complexion  lead  to  infanticide  and  parenticide?  Statis-P 
tics,  it  seems,  will  show  us  the  correlation  between  two  things- 
that  we  singje  out,  but  can  never  tell  us  whether  we  have; 
singled  out  the  proper  interacting  factors.  If,  however,  our 
logic  of  causes  has  no  weight  without  statistical  proof,  and, 
moreover,  is  not  proved  even  when  the  correlation  is  com- 
plete, how  can  we  make  inference  with  any  confidence? 

The  answer  to  this  question  is,  I  am  inclined  to  think, 
that  what  one  singles  out  as  the  cause  of  social  events  is 
largely  a  matter  of  choice.  In  a  sense,  and  for  that  matter 
in  a  very  real  sense,  the  entire  social  complex  must  be  viewed 
as  a  cause,  or,  if  you  like,  the  whole  universe.  Yet  various 
phases  of  the  universe  and  of  the  social  complex  may  vary 
without  any  apparent  or  corresponding  degree  of  change 


An  Interpretation  of  Messianic  Movements        253 

in  a  given  trait  of  social  life,  and  we  look  for  more  intimate 
correlations.  That  phase  of  social  or  physical  environment 
which  affects  most  the  given  trait  is  our  main  interest.  The 
answer  is  to  be  found  in  that  phase  which  most  consistently 
involves  a  change  in  the  given  trait.  If,  for  example,  when- 
ever we  have  the  favorable  physical  environment  we  find  the 
given  trait,  say  infanticide  or  abandonment  of  the  aged,  ap- 
pearing, then  it  is  preferable  as  an  explanation.  But  if 
changes  of  religion,  ethics,  or  other  motives  can  effect  a  dif- 
ferent practice  when  physical  environment  remains  the  same, 
then  this  is  preferable.  If  we  have  the  same  proportion  of 
correspondences  in  each  case,  there  is  no  reason  to  prefer 
one  to  the  other.  If,  however,  we  extend  the  class  by  includ- 
ing many  more  instances,  we  have  a  new  angle  on  the  phe- 
nomena. It  is  not  enough  to  discover  that  red  hair  is  cor- 
related with  moral  disposition.  We  must  ask  if  change  in 
color  of  hair  tends  to  be  followed  by  change  in  character  and 
whether  this  is  greater  than  the  change  that  takes  place 
when  there  is  no  change  in  pigmentation.  The  correlation 
of  psychic  state  (motive)  with  practice  is  not  enough.  We 
must  know  whether  the  psychic  state  is  present  irrespective 
of  other  psychic  or  physical  conditions,  or  is  only  aroused 
by  others,  and  so  is  an  occasioning  cause  but  not  a  sufficient 
one,  that  is,  not  the  prime  mover. 

The  results  of  any  such  statistical  and  psychological  ex- 
amination will,  of  course,  be  highly  tentative.  But  this  is 
of  the  essence  of  the  case  and  casts  no  discredit  upon  the 
method  by  which  cause  and  effect  in  social  life  must  be  de- 
termined. 

[Acknowledgment  is  due  the  American  Journal  of  Soci- 
ology for  permission  to  use  the  above  material,  p.  247  to  p. 
253,  which  appeared  originally  in  that  Journal,  March, 
1917.] 

There  appear  to  be,  then,  two  points  of  view  from  which 
we  may  interpret  messianic  manifestations:  we  may  include 
all  of  them  in  one  class  as  so  many  diverse  expressions  of 
the  same  fundamental  desire  finding  outlet  now  in  this,  now 
in  that  group  at  various  indeterminate  or,  at  best,  only 
partly  determinate  times.  Our  explanations  follow  the 


Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

event.  We  can  not  predict  that  a  Messiah  will  appear  at  t 
given  time  and  place.  Some  sort  of  prediction  we  can  make 
though  never,  of  course,  with  complete  assurance  of  its  ful 
fillment.  [In  this  respect  we  are  in  somewhat  the  same  di- 
lemma as  the  life  insurance  company  with  regard  to  its  pre- 
diction of  mortality.  It  cannot  determine  what  individual 
will  die  at  a  given  time  or  place.  The  life  insurance  company 
is  infinitely  better  off  in  this  regard  than  are  we,  but  the  prob- 
lems are,  after  all,  much  the  same.]  Our  prediction  musl 
be  vague.  We  may,  let  us  say,  predict  more  Messiahs  amon^ 
the  Hebrews  than  among  ascetic  Buddhists,  more  for  a  dis- 
contented and  struggling  Mohammedanism  than  for  a  philo- 
sophic and  well-satisfied  Taoism  or  Confucianism.1 

As  we  become  more  intimately  aware  of  the  conditions 
prevailing  among  two  given  peoples  we  may  with  more  as 
surance  predict  a  greater  number  of  Messiahs  from  the  on< 
group  than  from  the  other.  We  cannot  go  farther  than  this 
and  say  that  if  we  knew  all  of  the  conditions  we  could  pre- 
dict with  absolute  confidence.  In  all  social  life  there  are 
imponderables  whose  influence  can  never  be  predetermined 
In  all  group  life  as  in  all  individual  life  there  is  an  elemenl 
of  freedom  which  takes  indeterminate  direction  and  upsets 
the  most  careful  calculation.  It  is  not  true  that,  given  the 
suitable  conditions,  the  messiah  will  appear.  The  appear- 
ance of  a  messianic  faith  is  itself  one  of  the  conditions 
Even  a  political  revolution  does  not  get  under  way  until  dis 
content  over-balances  oppression.  The  spirit  of  resistance 
may  be  fanned  but  is  not  created  by  injustice  and  persecu 
tion.  The  group  may  play  the  martyr  and  be  led  an  un- 
willing but  unresisting  victim  rather  than  turn  in  its  mighl 
upon  the  cause  of  its  ills. 

These  two  points  of  view,  the  search  for  uniform  causes 

iThe  Moriscos  of  Spain  offer  a  good  example  of  our  liability  to  g< 
astray  in  the  matter  of  prediction.  Here,  if  anywhere,  the  condition: 
were  such  as  might  be  expected  to  call  forth  a  Mahdi.  Yet  none  in  th< 
long  course  of  their  oppression  and  struggle  for  political  and  religion: 
freedom  seems  to  have  appeared.  At  least  I  deem  it  safe  to  suppose  tha 
so  thorough  and  careful  a  historian  as  Lea  would  not  have  passed  then 
by,  and  there  is  no  reference  to  them  in  his  work.  [The  Moriscos  o\ 
Spain.  Philadelphia,  1901.] 


An  Interpretation  of  Messianic  Movements        255 

and  the  search  for  unique  causes  in  the  respective  groups 
where  the  Messiahs  appear,  are  not  mutually  exclusive. 
They  are  supplementary  rather  than  contradictory ;  each 
is  to  be  used  for  what  it  is  severally  worth,  and  each  is  a 
contingent  check  upon  the  other. 

To  view  our  problem  from  these  two  angles  rather  than 
from  one  is  to  get  some  conception  of  the  two  dimensions  of 
the  phenomena  —  the  universal  and  the  particular,  what  is 
common  and  what  is  unique.  There  are  laws  of  history  and 
laws  of  society,  else  any  study  of  either  is  fruitless ;  but,  as 
William  James  has  said,  to  speak  of  these  laws  as  something 
inevitable,  which  science  has  only  to  discover,  and  whose  con- 
sequences any  one  can  then  foretell,  since  nothing  can  alter 
or  avert  them  —  to  conceive  of  them  thus  is  idle  folly.  The 
imponderables  forever  play  their  part  in  social  life  and  no 
law  is  adequately  formulated  which  leaves  them  out  of  ac- 
count. So  far  as  these  laws  undervalue  individual  differ- 
ences  and  the  other  imponderables  they  may  justly  be  called 
"  the  most  pernicious  and  immoral  of  fatalisms."  [Williar1 
James,  The  Will  to  Believe,  216-62.  New  York,  1898,] 

The  truth  is,  "  we  cannot  do  more  than  conjecture,  with 
more  or  less  confidence,  but  never  with  certainty  oi  predic- 
tion, how  any  given  man  or  any  given  community  of  men 
will  behave  under  any  given  set  of  conditions.  .  .  .  Each 
individual  has,  when  considered  as  a  human  being,  some- 
thing peculiar  to  himself  which  is  not  and  cannot  be  com- 
pletely known  or  measured."  [Lord  Bryce,  War  and  Hu- 
man Progress,  Atlantic  Monthly,  September,  1916  (Vol. 
118).  A.  L.  Kroeber,  The  Superorganic,  American 
Anthropologist,  April-June,  1917,  Vol.  19,  No.  2,  esp.  194^ 
205.] 

The  Messiah's   Initiative  and   the  Group's  Response 

A  survey  of  messianic  movements  and  a  correlation  of  the 
Messiah's  initiative  with  the  prevailing  social  atmosphere, 
seems  to  indicate  that  the  individual  is  member  of  a  class  and 
the  vehicle  of  a  higher  purpose  which  envelopes  his  individual 
and  unique  efforts,  Whether  this  purpose  is  imparted  to 


256  Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

him  by  the  group  of  which  he  is  a  part  and  for  whose  sal- 
vation he  strives  is  another  question.  The  individual  is  re- 
acting to  his  environment  and  that  environment  may  be  very 
different  from  the  environment  of  the  group.  How,  then, 
shall  we  answer  that  much-asked  question,  Is  this  individual 
initiative  or  social  compulsion? 

We  create  an  unreal  difficulty  when  we  consider  individual 
initiative  and  social  law  as  mutually  exclusive  or  as,  when 
referred  to  the  same  act,  incompatible  concepts.  Both  con- 
cepts are  referable  to  the  same  act,  just  as  the  genius,  in  his 
accomplishment,  may  be  both  the  most  indebted  man  and  the 
greatest  contributor  of  his  age.  In  fact,  one  might  almost 
say  that  he  is  the  one  because  he  is  the  other. 

Individual  initiative  may  properly  describe  an  act  which 
is,  at  the  same  time,  the  forwarding  of  a  group  purpose. 
We  may  as  well  ask  the  question:  Does  the  man  move  to- 
ward town  in  the  morning  because  he  wishes  to  get  to  his 
office  or  is  it  because  the  train  he  boards  is  moving  in  that 
direction?  Is  it  any  the  less  the  fulfilment  of  his  wish  because 
the  environment  happens  to  be  favorable?  Why  do  not  all 
the  individuals  of  the  group  become  Messiahs? 

The  same  act  may  be  designed  to  save  both  the  individual 
and  his  group.  Both  aims  may  be  co-ordinated  in  the  indi- 
vidual. The  individual  is  not  included  in  the  group  as  a 
particle  of  air  is  included  in  a  foot-ball,  so  that  every  im- 
pulsion is  but  a  propulsion  resulting  from  contact  with  other 
particles  of  the  same  closed  system.  A  better  analogy  is  the 
pack  of  wolves,  in  which  there  is  concert  between  the  indi- 
vidual members,  but  not  a  socially  closed  system  of  influences. 
Each  individual  wolf  entertains  relations  with  the  outside 
non-wolf  world  in  much  the  same  way  that  the  whole  pack 
does.  To  him  as  an  individual  may  come  the  influence  from 
without  which  he  imparts  to  the  entire  pack.  Concerted 
action  may  thus  be  prompted  directly  by  his  alarm  of  danger 
or  his  communication  that  game  has  been  scented.  Though 
the  reward  be  for  the  pack,  it  is  none  the  less  the  result  of 
individual  stimulus. 

To  inquire  what  religion  a  man  would  have  without  the 
social  stimulus  is  perplexing  enough,  for  complete  independ- 


An  Interpretation  of  Messianic  Movements        257 

ence  from  social  currents  seems  as  difficult  to  perceive  as 
silly  to  desire.  But  it  seems  clear  enough,  also,  that  his  life 
would  lose  in  effectiveness  if  the  forces  of  gravity  ceased  to 
apply  to  him,  or  if  oxygen  no  longer  revitalized  his  blood 
corpuscles.  Is  the  social  dependence  different  in  kind  or 
only  in  degree  from  the  physical  and  the  physiological? 
Man  is  part  of  the  gravitational,  part  of  the  biological,  and 
no  less  a  part  of  the  social  system. 

But  he  not  only  is  a  part  of  them;  he  has  a  part  in  them. 

No  doubt  the  individual  is  often  ignorant  of  the  higher 
social  purposes  within  which  many  of  his  individual  purposes ' 
revolve.  Society,  too,  may  be  held  under  the  dominant  pur- 
pose  of  an  individual  while  convinced  that  this  acceptance  is 
wholly  self-willed.  Groups  are  misled  to  their  undoing,  are 
blinded  to  every  rational  and  practical  consideration,  when 
the  Messiah  has  brought  them  under  his  spell.  If  we  answer 
that  society  obeys  only  when  it  chooses,  we  must  admit  the 
counterpart,  the  individual  is  compelled  by  society  only  when 
he  chooses  to  comply.  At  best  it  can  only  impose  alterna- 
tives, and  he  may,  at  times,  reject  the  alternatives  and  him- 
self impose  an  entirely  new  issue.  The  individual  is  a  self- 
complete  system  of  purposes  and  capable  of  introducing  into 
the  group  elements  not  previously  there. 

Tiele's  answer  to  the  allegation  that  Christ's  originality 
is  revoked  by  the  discovery  that  his  doctrines  are  to  be  found 
in  the  Greek  and  Jewish  thought  of  the  day,  is  a  complete 
reply.  "  Even  if  the  whole  gospel  had  been  compiled  from 
a  great  variety  of  Jewish  and  Greek  writings,"  says  Tiele, 
"  yet  two  incontestable  facts,  which  are  in  reality  one,  still 
remain.  One  is,  that  all  the  truths,  which  are  said  to  have 
been  recognized  already,  are  here  reduced  to  one  great  prin- 
ciple ;  and  the  other,  that  one  person  was  the  prime  mover, 
who  realized  that  principle  in  himself  and  his  life,  and  by  so 
doing  aroused  enthusiasm  for  it  in  his  disciples."  [Elements 
of  the  Science  of  Religion,  I,  253—4?.  See  Art.  Jesus  Christ, 
in  Hastings'  E.R.E.  VII.]  Thus,  though  "  even  the  greatest 
religious  personality  known  to  history  influenced  and  was  in- 
fluenced by  tradition,  alike  in  his  work  and  his  development, 
this  did  not  diminish  his  originality,  for  the  old  becomes  new 


258  Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

when  appropriated  and  applied  by  a  deep  and  original 
genius."  [Harold  Hoffding,  The  Philosophy  of  Religion.} 
Mohammed  may  have  used  as  his  models,  now  Judaism,  and 
now  Christianity;  he  may  have  woefully  misunderstood  the 
historical  basis  as  well  as  the  spiritual  essence  of  both  sys- 
tems ;  yet  he  tempered  them  with  his  own  spirit  and  with  the 
peculiar  mental  standpoints  of  his  people,  giving  to  the  prod- 
uct, by  virtue  of  his  creative  personality,  an  individuality  all 
its  own. 

This  is  why  he,  who  once  through  Arabia  was  driving 
camels,  was  soon  to  drive  half  the  world. 

We  must  not,  on  the  other  hand,  forget  that  instance  after 
instance  has  shown  us,  in  the  social  or  political  conditions  of 
the  tribe  or  nation,  needs  that  call  forth  the  new  religion,  a 
divinity  that  shapes  the  Messiah's  ends,  rough  hew  them  how 
he  may.  Though  the  Messiah  may  initiate,  he  does  so 
profitably  only  when  there  is  a  certain  predisposition  on  the 
part  of  the  group,  a  predisposition  fostered  by  untoward 
circumstances.  In  practically  all  of  these  messianic  mani- 
festations we  find  the  individual  responding,  as  does  also  the 
group,  to  the  higher  law  of  self-preservation,  a  law  operative 
under  its  own  appropriate  conditions,  and  expressive  of  how 
society  and  the  individual  behave  under  such  compulsions. 
In  the  words  of  William  James,  "  Social  evolution  is  the  re- 
sultant of  two  wholly  distinct  factors, —  the  individual,  de- 
riving his  peculiar  gifts  from  the  play  of  physiological  and 
intra-social  forces,  but  bearing  all  the  power  of  initiative 
and  origination  in  his  hands ;  and,  second,  the  social  environ- 
ment, with  its  power  of  rejecting  both  him  and  his  gifts. 
Both  factors  are  essential  to  change.  The  community  stag- 
nates without  the  impulse  of  the  individual.  The  impulse 
dies  away  without  the  sympathy  of  the  community."  [The 
Will  to  Believe,  232,  New  York,  1898.] 

There  is  that  much  truth  and  no  more  in  the  historian's  as- 
surance that  "  a  great  king  is  the  result  of  a  great  need  " ; 
that  "  When  the  nation  is  sore  beset,  when  the  times  are  full 
of  presage  of  disaster,  and  ruin  hangs  ominously  on  the 
horizon ;  then  the  great  king  comes  to  rescue  his  people  from 
danger,  to  restore  order  and  well-being,  and  to  reign  over  a 


An  Interpretation  of  Messianic  Movements        £59 

realm  once  more  made  happy  and  prosperous  by  his  efforts." 
[Stanley  Lane-Poole,  The  Moors  m  Spam,  98.  New  York, 
1898.] 

Does  the  Group  Transcend  the  Messiah  or  the  Messiah 
the  Group?  l 

The  messianic  religions  which  we  have  seen  at  work  fur-  j  / 
nish  examples  of  genuinely  individual  initiative,  efficient  in 
giving  new  trend  to  the  social  development.     A  school  of 
sociologists  would  assure  us  that  this  is,  after  all,  but  the 
response  of  the  individual  to  the  call  of  the  social,  that  the 
individual  is  but  the  vehicle  of  society's  purpose,  and  that  he 
initiates  only  when,  because,  and  in  so  far  as  society  wills 
such  initiative.     It  seems  clear  that  society  must  be  in  some  j 
such  state  of  preparedness   and  willful  seeking  as   adverse! 
circumstances  indicate.     The  Messiah  cannot  save  a  people/ 
which  is  so  self-satisfied  that  it  feels  no  need  of  salvation. j 
But,  as  our  examples  abundantly  show,  he  can  supply  thatw/ 
need  by  rousing  the  group  to  a  new  realization  of  their  actual! 
or  supposed  needs.     To  do  this  is  to  make  the  group  re- 
ceptive.    So  far  is  this  individual  directive  force  from  being 
always  in  accord  with  the  group's  well-wishing,  that  it  fre- 
quently works  the  group's  undoing.     Such  was  the  case  when 
the  Eskimo  of  South  Greenland  became  so  absorbed  in  the 
new  doctrine  enunciated  by  their  Messiah,  Habakkuk,  as  to 
discontinue  hunting  and  live  off  the  provisions  of  the  previ- 
ous winter.     The  Guiana  Indians  were  so  obsessed  by  the 
Messiah's  words  as  to  act  upon  his  assurance  that  all  must 
die  within  three  nights,  each  to  fall  by  the  hand  of  his  fellow, 
in  order  to  secure  resurrection  in  white  skins  wherein  to  re- 
possess  the  land  that  was   fast  being  wrested  from  them. 
Some   four  hundred  people  felled  each   other  in   a   bloody 
massacre  which,  even  so,  was  not  gory  enough  to  entail  the 
promised  reward.      Scarcely  less  misfortune  came  upon  the 
group  of  Cretan  Jews  who  followed  their  false  Messiah  of 
the  fifth  century,  Moses,  to  their  woeful  undoing. 

i  The  author  has  discussed  a  similar  problem  in  an  article,  "  Individual 
Initiative  and  Social  Compulsion,"  The  American  Anthropologist,  Dec., 
1915.  i 


260  Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

In  these  and  similar  instances  the  individual  mind  is,  so 
far  at  least  as  this  religious  life  is  concerned,  the  larger 
mind,  comprising  within  its  purposes  the  social  mind  and 
prescribing  the  program  which  the  social  is  to  adopt  and 
pursue.  This  adoption  and  adherence  on  the  part  of  the 
social  is  often  independent  of  the  group  welfare,  or  even 
works  against  it.  Yet  so  completely  is  the  group  held  in  the 
grip  of  the  individual  that  its  impulse  to  respond  sweeps 
aside  every  consideration  of  welfare,  every  faculty  of  critical 
judgment,  all  taint  of  scepticism. 

Is  this  individual  dominence  as  real  and  ultimate  as  it  is 
specious?  As  happened  in  the  Guiana  tribe,  we  may  find 
an  unfavorable  reaction  upon  the  part  of  society  once  its 
delusion  and  deception  is  comprehended  by  it.  There  is  re- 
volt from  the  indoctrinated  faith  and  perhaps  death  for  the 
hypnotiser.  Society  is  once  more  in  the  ascendant,  having 
recognized  the  error  into  which  the  individual  has  led  it. 
Thus  the  reality  and  the  ultimate  triumph  of  the  social 
dominance  seems  assured. 

Is  this  recurrence  of  social  authority  merely  the  rebound 
of  the  social  to  its  own,  or  but  a  temporary  restoration, 
only  to  become  subject,  again  and  again,  to  individual  mind? 

An  Eskimo  community  furnishes  an  instructive  example  of 
this  interplay  of  social  and  individual  forces.  In  the  Eskimo 
community  it  is  not  uncommon  for  some  individual  gradually 
to  acquire  more  and  more  wealth  than  his  fellows  and,  pari 
passu,  to  rise  in  influence.  He  may  brutally  dominate  the 
community  until  every  member  of  it  is  in  fear  of  his  life, 
none  of  them  daring  to  gainsay  him.  But  a  time  comes 
when  this  man  of  wealth  must  give  away  to  the  community 
all  of  his  acquisitions  —  or  suffer  death  for  his  failure  to 
comply  with  the  community's  demand.  The  man  who  domi- 
nates the  community,  killing,  by  caprice,  this  or  that  indi- 
vidual who  is  displeasing  to  him,  keeping  every  member  of  it 
in  fear  of  his  life,  is  eventually  overthrown,  for  finally  the 
community  summons  up  courage  to  kill  him  and  appoints 
some  one  to  carry  out  this  punishment.  Society  is  again  in 
the  ascendant  and,  although  other  individuals  will,  from  time 
to  time,  repeaj^^he  aggression,  the  community  will,  in  the 


An  Interpretation  of  Messianic  Movements 

case  of  each  of  them,  eventually  brush  them  aside,  persist  in 
its  own  way,  and  triumph  in  its  own  strength.  So  it  was 
with  the  "  tyrant  "  of  Ancient  Greece.  [For  the  Eskimo  see 
especially  Nelson's  account  in  the  IS'th  Annual  Report  of 
the  Bureau  of  Ethnology.] 

The  sociologist,  however,  will  not  be  warranted  in  drawing 
over-much  comfort  from  such  instances.  The  only  reason 
that  society  seems  to  revert  to  the  ascendancy  as  one  tem- 
porarily surrendered  is  because,  in  the  recital  of  the  circum- 
stances, we  start  with  the  individual  and  stop  with  the  group, < 
whereas  we  have  no  right  to  start  or  to  stop  with  one  rather 
than  with  the  other.  So  far  as  the  phenomena  of  recurrence 
are  available  they  afford  not  a  permanent  ascendancy  marked 
by  periodic  lapses  of  one  authority  rather  than  the  other, 
but  an  endless  series,  a  cycle  of  individual  and  social 
authority. 

This  group  seems  ultimately  to  transcend  this  individual; 
but  it  is  not  the  same  group,  neither  in  its  sociological  nor 
in  its  psychological  make-up,  as  that  which  was  previously 
at  the  beck  and  call  of  the  individual.  If,  then,  we  retain 
the  sameness  in  individual  and  group,  respectively,  we  at 
once  pass  into  the  infinite  series  of  which  a  cycle  is  the  only 
way  of  representing  respective  dominance. 

Nor  is  it  clear  in  what  helpful  sense  we  may  allege  that  the 
Messiah  dominates  only  when  society  wills  it.  We  find  this 
dominance  when  society  wills  otherwise.  It  is  true  in  the 
sense  that  an  army  surrenders  only  when  it  wills  to  do  so. 
Yet  this  willing  occurs  under  such  untoward  circumstances, 
when  the  act  of  surrender  contravenes  its  more  inclusive  pur- 
poses and  expresses  the  fulfilment  of  the  broader  purposes 
of  the  enemy,  that  we  may  well  speak  of  its  surrender  as  com- 
pelled by  the  foe  rather  than  the  result  of  its  own  choice. 
How  we  explain  or  express  it  depends  upon  our  point  of 
view  in  describing,  since  dominance  involves  alwavs  two  fac- 
tors, and  the  phenomena  can  be  described  from  the  point  of 
view  of  the  interests  and  activities  of  the  dominating,  or  from 
those  of  the  dominated.  Our  interests  usually  hover  about 
the  fulfilment  of  the  larger  systems  of  purposes  rather  than 
of  smaller  ones ;  wherefore,  we  prefer  to  say,  The  man  feeds 


Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

or  beats  the  dog,  rather  than  the  equally  true  and  necessary 
corollary,  The  dog  permits  itself  to  be  fed  or  beaten.     When 
the  dog  procures   food  by   self-initiated  tricks   familiar  to 
itself  and  to  its  master,  we  may  prefer  to  say,  The  dog 
secures  food  from  the  master,  rather  than  The  master  gives 
the  dog  food.     But  our  preference  has  not  hit  upon  any 
greater  truth.     The  student  of  animal  psychology  will  pre- 
fer those  expressions  which  describe  the  circumstances  from 
the  point  of  view  of  the  interests  and  activities  of  the  dog. 
In  a  precisely  similar  manner  the  social  psychologist  may 
persist  in  his  attitude  with  regard  to  the  reality  and  per- 
manence of  the  social  as  contrasted  with  the  illusoriness  of 
the  individual,  in  this  case,  the  messiah,  since  he  has  chosen 
the  social  point  of  view  for  the  orientation  of  his  phenomena, 
and  his  descriptions  come  necessarily  from  the  social  angle. 
The  ultimate  reality  of  society  is  no  more  a  fact  than  the 
I     ultimate  reality  of  the  individual.     Each  society  is  member  »• 
of  a  larger  society  from  which  many  influences  and  tenden- 
cies —  if  not  all  of  them !  —  have  come.     Any  given  society 
.  may  —  shall  we  say  must?  —  be  considered  the  resultant  of 
\  continuous  historical  influences  reaching  back  into  the  re- 
^motest  past  and  touching  every  form  of  previous  social  life. 
The  motives  which  lead  the  sociologist  to  resolve  the  Mes- 
siah into  mere  social  and  historical  antecedents  will  logically 
compel  him  to  dissolve  the  social  group  into  similar  histori- 
^  cal  antecedents.     To  do  this  is  to  give  up  the  problem  of 
society  versus  the  individual.     The  positing  of  such  a  prob- 
lem involves  the  treatment  of  society  and  individual  as  dis- 
tinct and  self-complete,  if  reciprocal  units. 

Thus  the  social  influences  are  —  like  the  gravitational  — 
^  one  of  the  dimensions  in  which  the  Messiah  must  realize  him- 
self. His  development  will  be  conditioned  by  many  phases 
of  the  social  dimension  whose  determinations  more  intimately 
concern  individual  psychology  than  does  any  physical  dimen- 
sion which  circumscribes  individual  action.  Yet  oxygen  and 
the  gravitational  forces  are  as  necessary  to  the  Messiah  as 
are  favorable  social  atmosphere  and  impetus.  Nor,  for  that 
matter,  does  wisdom  flourish  without  physiological  nourish- 
ment :  — 


An  Interpretation  of  Messianic  Movements        263 

The  empty  spit 

Ne'er  cherished  wit; 

Minerva  loves  the  larder. 

The  Messiah  craves  the  social  nourishment  as  well.  When,  %/ 
however,  all  has  been  said,  the  social  seems  merely  a  polarity 
or  a  dimension  in  which  his  personality  finds  meaning  and  by 
which  it  is  conditioned  in  its  expression.  How  could  it  come 
within  the  grasp  of  individual  mind  if  individual  mind  were 
not  a  self-sufficient  reality?  Though  social  influences  are 
largely  responsible  for  the  ability  of  the  individual  to  grasp 
their  meaning,  he  creates  them  as  truly  as  they  create  him. 
As  Goethe  says, 

Der  Mensch  erkennt  sich  nur  im  Menchen,  nur 
Das  Leben  lehret  jedem  was  er  sei, — 

but  this  is  equally  true  of  the  group,  for  it,  too,  comes  to  its 
own  only  as  member  of  a  larger  group. 

"  All  men's  minds,  they  say,"  remarks  Pindar,  "  are  stirred 
by  whatsoever  wave  at  the  instant  rolleth  nearest  to  the 
mainsheet  of  the  ship  " ;  but  each  is  wafted  according  as  he 
turns  his  sails,  and  the  Messiah  may  so  trim  them  as  to  make 
headway  even  against  an  adverse  wind. 

The  Mission  of  Jesus 

In  his  book  on  The  {Religious  Life  Emile  Durkheim  has 
referred  to  the  prejudice  entertained  by  many  people  to- 
ward a  comparative  study  of  religion  if  that  study  includes 
an  account  of  their  own  religion.  This  fact,  which  probably 
all  of  us  have  observed,  has  its  explanation  in  human  psy- 
chology. 

The  prejudice  is  no  doubt  in  large  part  due  to  the  fact 
that  the  religious  devotee  looks  upon  such  an  objective  study 
as  disregarding  the  essential  elements  in  his  religion  and  thus 
giving  it  a  distortion  that  is  little  short  of  misrepresenta- 
tion. At  best  it  disregards  the  purport  and  inner  meaning 
of  the  religion.  It  leaves  him  with  much  the  same  feeling 
he  has  when,  in  reply  to  his  incisive  arguments,  he  is  told  that 
he  has  uttered  six  hundred  monosyllabic  and  twice  as  many 


264  Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

polysyllabic  words  punctuated  with  fourteen  commas  and 
sixteen  periods.  Here  is  truth  but  here  also  is  a  blatant 
disregard  of  the  meaning  and  purpose  of  the  argument. 

A  classification  of  philosophers  in  terms  of  weight,  com- 
plexion, and  stature  may  be  a  model  of  truthfulness  as  well 
as  of  inaptness,  and  may  afford  a  minimum  of  amusement 
to  the  serious  student  of  the  history  of  thought.  Such 
classifications  are,  however,  permissible  if  they  serve  a  pur- 
pose. There  are  times  when  we  wish  to  view  phenomena 
from  a  new  or  unaccustomed  angle  in  order  to  form  an  esti- 
mate from  that  point  of  view.  Nor  can  there  be  any  valid 
objection  to  this  form  of  occupation.  An  objection  is  not 
in  order  until  it  be  insisted  that  this  is  the  only  method  of 
estimation. 

If,  therefore,  we  wish  to  view  a  messianic  religion  from  a 
historical,  a  geographical,  or  a  comparative  point  of  view, 
is  there  a  valid  objection?  This  does  not  preclude  other 
methods  of  approach  or  diverse  angles  of  interpretation. 
Let  all  interpretations  be  taken  for  what  they  are 
severally  worth.  Christianity  like  any  other  faith  can  be 
viewed  from  various  angles,  as  can  also  the  career  of  Jesus, 
the  Messiah  whose  claims  are  accepted  by  the  devotees  of 
this  faith. 

The  historian  will  at  once  ask  for  the  historical  back- 
ground of  the  life  of  Christ.  ["  The  cultured  man  of  to-day 
is  a  person  who  thinks  historically,  and  can  construct  his 
future  only  by  means  of  historical  self-knowledge.  This 
holds  good  for  every  sphere  of  life,  even  for  the  religious 
sphere."]  That  background  has  been  given  in  preceding 
pages.  A  moment's  retrospect  will  show  us  that  he 
inherited  the  traditions  of  the  prophets;  that  he  lived 
in  a  time  when  messianic  prophecies  were  rife;  that  the 
times  called  for  national  salvation ;  that  the  gospels  declare 
his  consciousness  of  these  needs.  Opinions  may  differ  and 
do  differ,  as  to  the  conditions  under  which  Jesus  discovered 
his  messiahship,  interpreted  the  details  of  his  task,  and  made 
known  his  mission  to  his  disciples ;  but  "  it  is  now  almost  uni- 
versally admitted  that  Jesus  knew  himself  as  the  Messiah, 
that  personal  representative  of  Jahweh  for  whom  Israel 


An  Interpretation  of  Messianic  Movements        265 

waited  and  for  the  signs  of  whose  appearing  they  searched 
heaven  and  earth." 

The  historian  will  remind  us  also,  that  "  a  prevalent  be- 
lief among  the  Jews  fixed  the  duration  of  the  world  at  seven 
thousand  years,  of  which  six  were  nearly  expired, —  the  re- 
maining thousand  being  the  Messiah's  triumphant  reign.  In 
the  calamities  of  the  time,  it  was  felt  that  '  the  whole  crea- 
tion groaned  and  travailed  in  pain  '  for  the  birth  of  the 
coming  One ;  and  the  '  seventy  weeks  '  predicted  in  the  Book 
of  Daniel  were  by  the  general  interpretation  just  fulfilled. 
'  Through  the  whole  East,'  says  Suetonius,  *  an  old  and 
constant  opinion  had  spread  that  the  destined  rulers  of 
things  should  come  about  this  time  from  Judaea.'  '  When 
you  bury  me,'  said  a  dying  Jew,  *  put  shoes  on  my  feet  and 
a  staff  in  my  hand,  that  I  may  be  ready  when  Messiah 
cometh.'  Many  a  man,  '  just  and  devout  was  waiting  (like 
Simeon)  for  the  consolation  of  Israel ' ;  many  a  mother 
hoped  in  her  heart  that  her  new-born  child  should  be  the  ex- 
pected one."  [J.  H.  Allen,  op.  cit.,  893-4.] 

Little  wonder,  then,  that  Jesus  was  asked  whether  he  were 
the  expected  one  or  they  should  wait  for  another.  For,  "  in 
Judaea  expectation  was  at  its  zenith.  Holy  persons  —  such 
as  old  Simeon,  who,  legend  tells,  held  Jesus  in  his  arms  (Luke 
ii,  25-32),  Anna,  daughter  of  Phanuel,  regarded  as  a 
prophetess  —  passed  their  life  about  the  temple,  fasting  and 
praying  that  it  might  please  God  not  to  withdraw  them  from 
the  world  till  he  had  shown  them  the  fulfilment  of  the  hopes 
of  Israel.  We  are  conscious  of  a  brooding  life,  the  approach 
of  something  unknown. 

"  This  confused  mixture  of  clear  views  and  of  dreams,  this 
alternation  of  deception  and  hopes,  these  aspirations  cease- 
lessly driven  back  by  an  odious  reality,  found  at  last  their 
expression  in  the  incomparable  man  to  whom  the  universal 
conscience  has  decreed  the  title  '  Son  of  God  ' — most  justly, 
since  he  has  given  to  religion  a  direction  which  no  other  is 
or  probably  ever  will  be  able  to  emulate."  [E.  Renan,  The 
Life  of  Jesus,  89-90.  Boston,  1896.] 

Some  response  to  these  demands  was  almost  inevitable: 
"  The  Sibylline  mystics  at  Alexandria,  the  poets  at  Rome, 


266  Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

the  peasants  in  Syria,  were  wound  up  to  the  expectation  of 
*  some  beginning  of  a  new  order  of  the  ages,'  some  hero  '  who 
from  Palestine  should  govern  the  habitable  world,'  some  cause 
in  which  '  the  East  should  once  more  wax  strong.' '  [A.  P. 
Stanley,  Lectures  on  the  History  of  the  Jewish  Church,  III, 
415.  New  York,  1906.] 

In  the  days  of  the  prophets  the  word  "  Messiah,"  "  the 
anointed  one,"  was  used  most  frequently  when  the  prophet 
had  in  mind  the  clash  of  nations,  dynasty  succeeding  dynasty, 
and  empire  overthrowing  empire.  The  anointed  of  Israel 
is  a  Son  of  David  who  will  come  to  overthrow  all  of  Israel's 
foes.  In  the  lifetime  of  Jesus  and  from  the  very  province 
in  which  he  lived,  Galilee,  Messiahs  had  appeared  making 
claim  to  be  national  saviors.  Of  these  events  the  Man  of 
Nazareth  was  surely  aware,  and  to  him  the  word  Messiah 
would  inevitably  suggest  a  powerful  historical  king,  a  war- 
rior, an  army,  a  resistless  revolution.  [See  on  this  point 
Jesus  Christ,  Hastings'  E.R.E.,  VII,  517.] 

Certainly  neither  his  followers  nor  his  enemies  dissociated 
his  mission  from  political  aspirations.  That  they  enter- 
tained a  belief  in  the  political  character  of  his  messiahship  is 
abundantly  shown  by  the  story  of  Herod's  attempt  to  kill 
the  babe,  and  by  the  charges  brought  before  Pilate  that  he 
claimed  to  be  king  of  the  Jews.  It  is  significant,  too,  that 
this  claim  his  accusers  stressed  more  than  the  claim  that  he 
was  the  Son  of  Man  or  the  Son  of  God,  since  the  two  latter 
in  their  eyes  constituted  blasphemy,  while  it  was  not  con- 
sidered blasphemy  to  claim  to  be  the  Messiah. 

While  there  is  no  doubt  that  these  were  the  claims  of  both 
friends  and  enemies,  there  is  as  little  doubt  that  they  were 
not  the  claims  of  Christ.  He  was  the  child  of  his  age,  to  be 
sure,  but  he  was  also  the  parent  of  a  new  doctrine.  The 
messianic  hope  was  taken  up  by  him  but  it  was  given  out 
as  a  new  doctrine,  transfused  with  a  new  meaning;  with  a 
meaning  so  utterly  different  from  the  time-honored  inter- 
pretations that  neither  friends  nor  enemies  could,  at  the  time, 
apprehend  its  meaning.  £Ie  was  ajnatignal  savior  but  not 
a -political  savior.  Other  ills  he  saw  and  other  remedies. 
Israel  was  to  be  saved,  but  not  by  acquiring  the  coveted 


. 


An  Interpretation  of  Messianic  Movements        267 

political  domination.  The  kingdom  was  a  reality  but  not 
one  made  with  hands,  not  resplendent  with  political  glory, 
honor  at  home,  and  dominion  abroad.  There  were  other 
worlds  to  conquer  and  other  weapons  of  warfare  to  forge. 
Only  gradually  did  his  followers  grasp  a  thought  so  far  in 
advance  of  their  age,  only  gradually  did  they  ascertain  the 
demands  of  the  Messiah  whose  claims  they  had  admitted. 

When,  therefore,  we  compare  Jesus  with  the  other 
Messiahs,  whether  of  his  race  or  of  another,  we  are  struck 
by  two  outstanding  facts :  a  remarkable  similarity  and  a 
remarkable  difference.  The  conditions  which  called  forth 
the  messianic  claim  are  remarkably  like  those  which  have 
called  forth  messianic  claims  in  other  times  and  other  climes ; 
the  response  to  these  demands  was  a  unique  response,  a  filling 
of  the  old  bottles  with  new  wine,  a  quenching  of  the  thirst 
by  a  new  draught.  Moreover,  this  unexpected  response  to 
the  demands  brought  about  a  transformation  in  those  de- 
mands themselves.  As  his  followers  were  given  other  than 
they  had  asked,  so  they  came  to  ask  other  things.  The  new 
fulfillment  in  itself  created  a  new  demand  and  a  new  attitude. 
Thus  the  Christ  who  was  the  product  of  his  age  became  the 
creator  of  a  new  age. 

[Ch.  IX,  Christianity,  in  C.  H.  Moore,  The  Religions 
Thought  of  the  Greeks  from  Homer  to  the  Triumph  of  Chris- 
tianity. Cambridge,  1916.  B.  I.  Bell,  Goodness  and  Re- 
ligion, Atlantic  Monthly,  October,  1916,  Vol.  118,  p.  363, 
Sect.  IV,  on  Messiah,  Diet,  of  Christ  and  the  Gospels,  II, 
177.  J.  H.  Allen,  op,  cit.,  405ff.  A.  M.  Fairbairn,  The 
Philosophy  of  the  Christian  Religion,  12,  314-5,  399-402. 
New  York,  1909.  O.  Stearns,  The  Aim  and  Hope  of  Jesus, 
published  in,  Christianity  and  Modern  Thought.  Boston, 
1891.  R.  H.  Hutton,  Theological  Essays,  295ff.  Theo 
Parker,  Views  of  Religion,  261.  Boston,  1890.  R.  M.  Wen- 
ley,  The  Preparation  for  Christianity  in  the  Ancient  World, 
131ff.  New  York,  1898.  W.  Sanday,  Outlines  of  the  Life 
of  Christ,  Ch.  VI,  The  Messianic  Crisis.  New  York,  1905. 
Ernest  Renan,  The  Life  of  Jesus,  esp.  252-93.  Boston,  1896. 
R.  Rhees,  The  Life  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  Ft.  II,  Ch.  VI.  The 
Messianic  Call.  New  York,  1908.  W.  Whipple,  The  Story- 


268  Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

Life  of  the  Son  of  Man.  New  York,  1913.  A.  Harnack, 
What  is  Christianity?  New  York,  1901.  E.  A.  Bosworth, 
Studies  in  the  Teaching  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles.  Ft.  I, 
Jesus'  conception  of  Himself  and  his  Mission.  New  York, 
1911.  Shailer  Mathews,  The  Gospel  and  the  Modern  Man, 
lOff,  81-6.  F.  W.  Farrar,  Life  and  Works  of  St.  Paul 
37,  83-5.  New  York,  1893.  C.  Geikie,  Life  and  Words  of 
Christ,  %  Vols.  New  York,  1890.  A.  Edersheim,  Life  and 
Times  of  Jesus  the  Messiah,  2  Vols.  New  York,  1899.  L.  H. 
Miller,  Our  Knowledge  of  Christ.  An  Historical  Approach. 
New  York,  1914.  F.  G.  Peabody,  Jesus  Christ  and  the 
Christian  Character,  45ff.  New  York,  1906.] 

Was  this  not  the  fulfilment  of  the  prophecy  of  Isaiah: 
"  And  there  shall  come  forth  a  sprig  out  of  the  stem  of 
Jesse  and  a  branch  shall  grow  out  of  his  roots ;  and  the  spirit 
of  the  Lord  shall  rest  upon  him,  the  spirit  of  wisdom  and  of 
understanding,  the  spirit  of  counsel  and  might,  the  spirit  of 
knowledge  and  of  the  fear  of  the  Lord ;  the  delight  of  whose 
life  shall  be  the  fear  of  the  Lord.  And  he  shall  not  judge 
after  the  sight  of  his  eyes,  neither  reprove  after  the  hearing 
of  his  ears.  But  with  righteousness  shall  he  judge  the  poor 
and  reprove  with  equity  for  the  oppressed  of  the  earth ; 
and  he  shall  smite  the  tyrant  with  the  rod  of  his  mouth  and 
with  the  breath  of  his  lips  shall  he  slay  the  wicked.  And 
righteousness  shall  be  the  girdle  of  his  loins,  and  faithfulness 
the  girdle  of  his  reins.  The  wolf  also  shall  dwell  with  the 
lamb,  and  the  leopard  shall  lie  down  with  the  kid ;  and  the 
calf  and  the  young  lion  and  the  f atling  together ;  and  a  little 
child  shall  lead  them." 

There  is  some  truth  in  Oesterley's  insistence  that  messian- 
ism,  in  its  widest  sense,  redemption  from  present  ills  by  super- 
natural means  embodied  in  a  personality,  is  elemental,  one  of 
the  common  characteristics  of  man.  It  is  deeply  embedded 
in  human  nature  and  finds  a  responsive  chord  in  almost  every 
environment. 

There  is  some  truth,  too,  in  his  further  association  of  the 
messianic  idea  with  a  dualistic  conception  of  life.  When  the 
world  is  conceived  of,  as  almost  always  it  is  conceived,  as  a 


An  Interpretation  of  Messianic  Movements         269 

world  in  which  two  masterful  and  opposing  powers  are  oper- 
ative, the  good  and  the  evil,  the  messiah  will  be  closely  linked 
with  the  forces  of  good.  This  is  one  reason  why  the  pre- 
dominance of  evil  is  the  harbinger  of  the  messiah ;  this  is  why 
his  coming  is  heralded  by  wars  and  calamities  manifold. 
The  height  of  the  evil  power  calls  forth  the  greatest  resist- 
ance from  the  good,  and  Anti-Christ  will  summon  the  messiah. 

The  Heilbringer,  or  culture-hero,  is,  however,  a  type  of 
philosophy  rather  than  a  true  precurser  of  the  messiah, 
though  Oesterley  would  imply  that  the  culture-hero  is  the 
messiah's  distant  prototype.  Very  vaguely  can  a  relation- 
ship here  be  traced,  for  the  messiah  is  almost  always  other 
than  the  culture-hero.  The  latter  may  at  most  be  taken  as 
a  sort  of  John  the  Baptist  of  messianism,  not  its  immediate 
inspiration.  [See  W.  O.  E.  Oesterley,  The  Evolution  of  the 
Messianic  Idea :  A  Study  in  Comparative  Religion.  London, 
1908.] 

So  thoroughly  did  the  times  foster  the  ambitions  of  the 
Messiah  that  one  scholar  has  ventured  to  declare  none  of 
them  a  creative  genius.  "  They  never  dominated  their  time," 
declares  Schindler.  "  They  never  dominated  their  time :  on 
the  contrary,  they  were  carried  away  with  the  current. 
They  never  moved  the  masses ;  they  rode  on  the  crest  of  the 
popular  wave.  They  were  merely  the  supply  to  a  public  de- 
man.  Their  Messianic  assumptions,  sincere  or  hypocritical, 
became  possible  only  on  account  of  a  popular  hope  in  the 
appearance  of  such  a  person.  None  of  them  appeared  at  a 
time  of  national  prosperity;  they  all  without  exception 
stepped  upon  the  stage  in  times  of  calamity.  They  could 
grow  only  upon  ground  fertilized  by  misery.  Whenever  the 
national  wretchedness  had  become  unbearable,  whenever  the 
spirit  of  the  people  had  become  so  depressed  that  they  des- 
paired of  themselves,  the  hope  sprang  up  that  help  must 
come  from  outside,  from  above :  that  a  man  must  appear  who 
would  improve  their  condition.  But  at  such  times  of  calam- 
ity the  human  judgment  becomes  biassed,  and  the  reasoning 
powers  lose  their  normal  strength.  A  drowning  man  will 
cling  to  a  straw:  so  a  nation  in  despair  will  cling 
to  the  most  childish  hope."  [Op.  cit.,  154-5.]  But,  in  the 


£70  Messiahs:  Christian  and  Pagan 

fine  phrase  of  Alfred  Loisy,  "  To  keep  a  firm  hold  on  life 
man  has  need  of  hope  as  an  indispensable  anchor.  An  il- 
lusion is  not  vain  which  gives  one  the  courage  to  face  un- 
avoidable deprivations."  [The  War  and  Religion,  38. 
English  translation  by  Arthur  Galton.  Oxford,  1915.] 

With  assurance,  then,  we  may  declare  that,  "  to  under- 
stand the  Christian  movement  one  must  see  it  as  related  to 
the  stream  of  Jewish  life  which  shaped  a  new  ethnic  epoch 
in  the  first  quarter  of  the  second  century  before  Christ. 
Palestine  long  before  the  time  of  Christ  had  been  incapable 
of  supporting  all  the  Jews,  and  the  stress  of  economic  need 
had  scattered  enormous  numbers  of  Jews  throughout  the  en- 
tire world.  On  the  whole,  these  Jews  of  the  Dispersion  sym- 
pathised with  the  less  privileged  classes  of  Palestine  and 
constituted  a  body  of  men  and  women  possessed  of  much  the 
same  social  mind  and  enriched  with  the  same  national  ideals 
as  those  of  the  common  people  and  the  Pharisees  in  Palestine. 
The  great  hope  of  divine  deliverance  which  nourished  them 
sprang  from  the  economic  and  political  situation  into  which 
foreign  nations  had  forced  them."  But  we  must  not  forget 
that,  though  sprung  from  economic  and  political  conditions, 
its  energies  were  directed  to  other  ends,  inasmuch  as  it  trans- 
cended the  conditions  out  of  which  it  originated.  "  By  the 
time  it  became  one  of  the  world  movements  throughout  the 
Roman  Empire  it  was  recognized  by  its  adherents  as  neither 
political  nor  economic,  but  that  thing  which  so  many  '  ma- 
terialist '  interpreters  of  history  fail  to  estimate  justly,  a 
supernatural  religion.  And  it  was  as  a  religion  avowedly 
supernatural  that  Christianity  moved  out  into  history  and 
wrought  its  changes.  Here  again  it  is  possible  to  see  a 
spiritual  tendency  as  a  social  movement  breaks  away  from 
the  conditions  which  gave  it  rise  and  becomes  on  its  own  ac- 
count an  independent  cause."  [Shailer  Ma  thews,  The 
Spiritual  Interpretation  of  History,  53^-7.  Cambridge, 
1916.  In  this  connection  see  the  account  of  the  Messianic 
Hope  given  in  E.  Schiirer,  A  History  of  the  Jewish  People  in 
the  Time  of  Jesus  Christ,  2nd  Division,  Vol.  II,  126-87. 
English  translation.  Edinburgh,  1890.] 

As  Shailer  Mathews  has  well  expressed  it,  Jesus  "  was  in- 


An  Interpretation  of  Messianic  Movements        271 

tegrated  in  the  social  currents  of  his  day.  It  would  be  in- 
deed difficult  to  think  of  him  as  developing  his  particular  mes- 
sage of  divine  salvation  in  the  midst  of  any  other  surround- 
ings than  those  of  the  Jewish  people.  But  after  the  hopes 
and  prayers  of  Pharisaism,  the  passions  and  beliefs  of  the 
Jewish  piety  of  his  day,  had  passed  through  his  own  in- 
dividual experience,  they  became  something  new.  Scattered 
parallels,  similarities  in  words  between  Jesus  and  the  philoso- 
phers of  Greece  or  the  master  rabbis  of  the  Jews,  are  beside 
the  mark.  They  no  more  account  for  Christianity  than 
chemical  elements  out  in  the  sunlight  account  for  acorns. 
Acorns  are  made  of  such  elements  after  they  have  been 
manipulated  by  some  tree.  Jesus  contributed  himself  and 
his  individual  experiences  to  history  and  historical  forces 
were  recombined  in  him.  He  was  indeed  the  Vine  with 
branches."  [The  Spiritual  Interpretation  of  History, 
115-6.  See  the  concluding  pages  of  Heinrich  Paulus,  Das 
Leben  Jesu,  %  vols,  Heidelberg,  1828.] 

While  we  remember  the  Vine,  let  us  not  forget  the  branches 
of  individual  contribution  and  unique  value,  of  a  life  which, 
short  as  it  was,  changed  the  course  of  the  ages. 


INDEX 


Abbas  Effendi,  113 
Abbasids,  94 
Abn  Abdallah,  95,  213  if. 
Abdallah  ibn  Maimum,  100 
Abraham,  22 

of  Granada,  49 

ben  Nissim,  48 
Abulafia,  Abraham,  48 
Adventists,  164 
Ahmad,  Mirza  Ghulam,  108 
Akbar,  110 
Alcyone,  124 

Alexander  the  Great,  203 
Alexandria,  Jews  of,  28-30,  36-7 
Alfatimi,  223 
Alids,  92 
Almericans,  191 
Al  Mokama,  93  If. 
Alroy,  David,  47  ff. 
Anabaptists,  156  ff. 
Anderson,  Scott,  166 
Anizetto,  150 
Antichrist,  39,  56,  58,  92,  206,  104, 

191  ff. 

Apache,  131-2 
Apocalypse  of  Baruch,  19 
Apocrypha,  27  ff.,  36 
Apollonius  of  Tyana,  203 
Arabs,  Arabia,  91  ff. 
Arabia  Felix,  45 
Arthur,  180 
Arya  Samaj,  106,  228 
Asmonian  period,  41 
Assyria,  15,  24,  32,  203 
Asurnasipal,  15 
Augustus,  32 
Aushetar,  18 
Aushetar-mah,  18 
Avatar,  108 

Avvacum,  Protopop,  192 
Avolokita,  121 

Bab,  Babism,  111  ff.,  228-9 
Babylon,  56,  191 
Babylonia,  15,  18,  24,  203 
Baggara,  223 


Baha,  Bahaism,  112  ff. 

Balder,  184 

Barclay,  John,  162 

Bar-Kokebas,  34,  41  ff.,  204 

Bashkin,  168 

Beckaranta,  146 

Bee,  Book  of,  45 

Bell,  126 

Benjamin,  Nathan,  60 

of  Toleda,  47 
Berechiah,  Berokia,  64 
Besant,  Mrs.  Annie,  165 
Besht,  72-3 

Bhagavad  Gita,  18,  226 
Blanchefleure,  56 
Boadbil,  182 
Bodhisattvas,  121 
Bontoc  Igorot,  151 
Boroimhe,  Brian,  180 
Botarel,  Moses,  48-9 
Brahmanism,  123 

Cabbala,  Cabbalists,  36,  52,  59,  68, 

73 

Caesar,  20-1 
Cagliostro,  206 
Calabres,  Hayim  Vital,  49 
California  Indians,  149 
Camisards,  163,  231 
Cardosa,  Miguel,  64 
Castrators,  176 
Charlemagne,  180 
China,  229 
China,  Jews,  in,  207 
Chinese,  123 
Church    of    God    and    Saints    of 

Christ,  178 
Cromwell,  57-8,  160 
Crowdy,  William  S.,  178 
Crusades,  47 

Da'  ire  wale,  111 
Dakota,  140 
Dansk,  Olger,  180 
David,  Alroy,  205 
Almaser,  205 


273 


Index 


David,  el-David,  205 

Reubeni,  50-2 
Delaware,  144 
Demeter,  19 
Dionysian  rites,  19 
Dongala,  100 
Donmeh,  70 
Dosithee,  33 
Dost  Mohammed,  111 
Doukhobors,  168 
Dowie,  109,  ITT 
Druses,  95 
Dunaan,  45 
Durkheim,  132 

Ebionites,  153 

Egypt,  ancient,  16-8,  32 

modern,  203 
Elkesaites,  154 
Elijah,  85 
Ernes,  Thomas,  163 
Engawaen  Jim,  131 
En  Sof,  58 
Eskimo,  260 
Esthonian,  1T9 
Euchites,  155 
Evans,  Arise,  160 
Eybeschiitz,  Jonathan,  64 

Falashas,  T8 
Fatima,  92 

Fifth  Monarchy  Men,  159,  232 
Flagellants,  191 
Franciscans,  191 
Frank,  Jacob,  64,  Tl-3 
Frederick  Barbarossa,  182 
Friends  of  God,  156 
the  Temple,  164  ff. 

Galilee,  58 

Ge-lug,  124 

Ghair  Mahdi,  111 

Ghasi  Das,  109 

Ghazi,  109-10 

Ghetto,  83-4,  88 

Ghost  Dance,  139-40,  144,  239 

Gilfillin,  George,  166 

Girling,  Mary  Ann,  163 

Gordon,  Gen.,  103 

Gorkhnath,  124 

Gotama,  122,  228 

Greeks,  19 

Gros  Ventres,  131 

Guiana  Indians,  146 


Hakim,  95,  98 

ibn  Allah,  93  ff . 

Singh,  10T 
Hallaj,  9T,  202 
Hameem,  94 
Hammurabi,  18 
Hasdai,  46 
Hasid,  Isaiah,  64 

Judah,  68-TO 
Herrs,  T5 
Hillelites,  35 
Hindu,  224-7 
Hiyoyoa,  133 
Hoffman,  Melchior,  156 
Hopi,  131 
Horace,  181 
Hosea,  61 
Hyrcanus,  John,  31 

Ibn  Saba,  93 

Initiative  of  messiah,  255  ff. 

Ipuwer,  16-8 

Irving,  Edward,  162 

Isaiah,  25,  82-3 

ben  Ishak,  Obaiah  Abu  Isa,  45 

Ishtar,  15-6 

Ismaili,  95 

Ispahan,  45 

ben  Israel,  Rabbi  Manasseh,  57 

Japanese,  123 

Jerahmeel,  Chronicles  of,  44 

Jeremiah,  24-5,  44,  85 

Jesus,    34,    37,    92,    110,    107,    203, 

257-8,  263  ff . 
Jews,  22  ff. 
Jezreelites,  163 
Joel,  202 

John  of  Leyden,  157 
Josephus,  34,  41,  44-5 
Josiah,  44 

Jost,  Leonard  and  Ursula,  159 
Judas,  of  Galilee,  33 

Kafirs,  130 
Kaim,  111 
Kalewipoeg,  180 
Kanakiik,  138-9 
Kapustin,  Savely,  168 
Karmatians,  96,  99  ff. 
Keeps-his-name-always,  141 
Khidr,  98 
Khlysti,  172,  174  ff. 
Kickapoo,  138 


Index 


275 


Kiowa,  140-4 
Kolesnikof,  Sylvan,  1TO 
Kosoy,  168^9 
Krishna,  18,  122 
Krishnamurta,  124 

Lamaism,  124,  230 

Leatherwood  God,  177 

Lee,  Ann,  161 

Lembein,  Ascher,  49 

de  Leon,   Rabbi  Mose  ben   Shem 

Tob,  58 
Loupkin,  173 
Lucretius,  181 
Luria,  Isaac,  49 
Luzzate,  Moses,  50 

Maccabees,  26,  30-1,  35 
Magus,  Simon,  204-5 
Maimonides,  88 
Maitreya,  124 
Malakh,  68-9 
Mandaeans,  154 
Manjusri,  121 
Maori,  130 
Marcionism,  155 
Massim,  Southern,  133 
Matthys,  Jan,  157 
Menahem,  35 
Menakemists,  48 
Men  of  God,  175 
Merneptah,  16 
Midrashim,  Haggadic,  85 
Millennium,  153  ff.,  180 
Miller,  William,  164 
Miyazaki,  123 
Mokiah,  Mordecai,  64 
Mokrani,  213 
Moktar,  210 
Mohammed,  91,  93,  258 

Ahmed  Ibn  Seyyid  Abdullah,  100 

al  Mahdi,  99 

Ibn  al  Hanafiyah,  93 
Hud,  94 
Ismail,  96 

Moktana,  Baba  ud-Din,  98 
Molcho,  Solomon,  51  ff. 
Molokane,  74 
Montanism,  155 
Mordecai,  74 
Moriscos,  254 
Moros,  151 
Mothers  of  God,  174 
Moses,  22 


Moses,  of  Crete,  44,  204,  259 
Mudhen  of  Tlemcen,  94 
Mullah,  Mad,  109-10,  226 
Miinzer,  Thomas,  158 

Nagid,  of  Egypt,  46 
Nak  ai  dokli  ni,  144 
Napoleon,  75-6,  183 
Navaho,  140 
Nebo,  Mt,  44 
Nero,  21,  38,  44 
New  Guinea,  152 
New  Zealand,  152 
Nez  Perce,  138 
Nigra,  45 

Oahspe,  Book  of,  178 

Obeidalla,  95 

Ogier,  183 

Ojibway,  144 

Olaf  Tryggvesson,  184 

Olivero,  128 

Omar  II,  45 

Originality  of  messiah,  2"57 

Orpheus,  19 

Osipov  Srege,  174 

Overcomers,  165 

Paiute,  140,  148,  201 

Papacy,  48-9 

Passover,  85 

Paul,  38 

Pepys,  Samuel,  63 

Persephone,  19 

Persia,  45-8,  116-7 

Petrov,  Andreyan,  171 

Pharisees,  35 

Philoppitch,  Daniel,  173 

Pobirohin,  Ilarion,  169 

Poland,  7,  61,  69-74 

Porno,  148 

Pope,  191 

Pope,  135-6,  198 

Prophets,    Old    Testament,    22  ff., 

202,  208-9 

Prossnitz,  Lobele,  64,  204 
Proteus,  203 
Psychological  interpretations, 

244  ff. 
Pushkin,  Andrian,  169 

Qaddish,  87    • 
Quakers,  232 
Querido,  Jacob,  64 


276 


Index 


Ram  Singh,  107 

Ranters,  233 

Rascolnik,  192 

Rashid-ad-Din  Sinan,  98 

Re,  17 

de  la  Reina,  Joseph,  58 

Revival,  religious,  232  if. 

Roderic,  185  ff. 

Rome,  19-21,  32,  39  ff.,  42-3,  203 

Russell,  Pastor,  168 

Sabbatai  Sevi,  59  ff.,  71 

Sadducees,  26,  29 

Sa'id,  210 

Samaritans,  76-8 

Sanusi,  211 

Saoshyant,  18-19 

Satnam,  108 

Sebastian,  Don,  187  ff. 

Seminole,  138 

Seneca,  32 

Serene,  of  Syria,  45 

Shaker,  145 

Shalom,  Abraham,  49 

Shawnee,  136 

Shebsen,  70-1 

Shekhinah,  71 

Shelemon,  45 

Shem-Tob,  49 

Shiites,  92,  99 

Shocher,  Ari,  76 

Shoshone,  Northern,  131 

Sibylline  oracles,  20-21,  29,  44 

Sikli,  227-8 

Siksike,  138 

Sioux,  144,  201 

Siovedi,  151 

Siva,  124 

Skoptsi,  176 

Smohalla,  138,  199 

Snow,  164 

Solomon  of  Armenia,  45 

Souslof,  Ivan,  173 

South  American  Indians,  150 

Southcott,  Joanna,  161 

Squaxin,  145 

Statistical  interpretation,  244  ff. 

Step  an  ov,  Vasali,  174 

Syria,  36 

Taborites,  156 


Taheb,  19 
Talmud,  44,  86 
Targum,  78 
Tchichikof,  183 
Tell,  182 

Testament,   of   the   Twelve    Patri- 
archs, 19 

Teuskwatawa,  136  ff.,  199 
Tewa,  135,  244 
Theodorus,  105 
Theosophists,  124,  165  ff. 
Theudas,  34,  203 
Thomas  of  Erceldome,  183 
Thompson  River  Indians,  146 
Tibullus,  181 
Titus,  26 
Tokeri,  133 
Trapnel,  Anna,  160 
Ibn  Tumart,  96,  210 
Turner,  Nat,  127 

Ukhshetara,  18 
Ukshatnemah,  18 
Umlanjeni,  128 

Venancio,  150 
Venner,  159 
Verigin,   171  ff. 
Vespasian,  21 
Vicente  Christo,  150 
Virgil,  20-21,  40 
Vishnu,  122 
Voltaire,  236 

Wahabi,  107,  223,  226 
Wanderers,  193 
Waraka,  91 
Wells,  H.  G.,  233  ff. 
White,  James,  163 
Wilderness  Worshippers,  126 
William  II  (Germany),  194,  228 
Wilhelmina  of  Bohemia,  48 
Wovoka,  143,  200,  201 

Yellow  Hats,  124 
Yemen,  47,  76 

Zealots,  34,  36 

Zikris,  111 

Zohar,  Second,  49,  58 

Zoroastrianism,  18-19,  120 


14  DAY  USE 

RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWED 


RE: 


This  book  is  due  on  the  last  date  stamped  below,  or 

on  the  date  to  which  renewed. 
Renewed  books  are  subject  to  immediate  recall. 


.      INTER-UOKAR 
I  n  A  KJ 

Wicr  MAD  1  X  fQ1 

LuAN 

MAR  3     197 

Dlou  MAK  1  0   g  | 

*? 

.  <      s 

-  -    £    *r 

t£±     ;'    '      :."t 

£           J 

55     ^      u 

CD       -0 

^        0 
-    hi                      - 

1  1C  INTFBI.!HwAK> 

r    _        0    i»- 

r~ 

UNIV.  OP  CALIF.. 

'4IU(My9? 

LD  21-32m-3,'74 
(R7057slO)476— A-32 


General  Library 

University  of  California 

Berkeley 


LD  21A-50w-ll,'62 
(D3279slO)476B 


General  Library 

University  of  California 

Berkeley 


U.C.  BERKELEY  LIBRARIES 


CDDflSTOBlt, 


. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


'./ 


